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3 X 




BUDDHA AND THE 
GOSPEL OF BUDDHISM 

ANANDA COOMARASWAMY D.Sc. 

AUTHOR OF "ARTS AND CRAFTS OF INDIA AND CEYLON " "RAJPUT 

PAINTING" AND "ESSAYS IN NATIONAL IDEALISM" JOINT-AUTHOR 

OF " MYTHS OF THE HINDUS AND BUDDHISTS " 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY 

ABANINDRO NATH TAGORE CLE. 
iff NANDA LAL BOSE 

AND THIRTY-TWO REPRODUCTIONS IN 
BLACK AND WHITE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 




ERRATA 

At page 203, /. 6, for u Thou art thou" read u That art thou." 
„ /. 2d, for 1915 read 1914. 



NEW YORK 
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

1 9 1 6 



BUDDHA AND THE 
GOSPEL OF BUDDHISM 

ANANDA COOMARASWAMY D.Sc. 

AUTHOR OF "ARTS AND CRAFTS OF INDIA AND CEYLON" "RAJPUT 

PAINTING" AND "ESSAYS IN NATIONAL IDEALISM" JOINT-AUTHOR 

OF "MYTHS OF THE HINDUS AND BUDDHISTS" 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY 

ABANINDRO NATH TAGORE CLE. 
tff NANDA LAL BOSE 

AND THIRTY-TWO REPRODUCTIONS IN 
BLACK AND WHITE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 




NEW YORK 
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

i 9 i 6 



1 ' / 

TO 

A. E. 



/ 



PRINTED AT 

THF -BALLANTYNE PRESS 

LONDON, ENGLAND 



PREFACE 

THE aim of this book is to set forth as simply as 
possible the Gospel of Buddhism according to the 
Buddhist scriptures, and to consider the Buddhist 
systems in relation, on the one hand, to the Brahmanical 
systems in which they originate, and, on the other hand, 
to those systems of Christian mysticism which afford the 
nearest analogies. At the same time the endeavour has 
been made to illustrate the part which Buddhist thought 
has played in the whole development of Asiatic culture, and 
to suggest a part of the significance it may still possess 
for modern thinkers. 

The way of the Buddha is not, indeed, concerned directly 
with the order of the world, for it calls on higher men to 
leave the market-place. But the order of the world can 
only be established on a foundation of knowledge : every 
evil is ultimately traceable to ignorance. It is necessary, 
then, to recognize the world for what it truly is. Gautama 
teaches us that the marks of this life are imperfection, 
transcience, and the absence of any changeless individu- 
ality. He sets before us a summum bonum closely akin 
to the Christian mystic conception of ' self-naughting.' 
Here are definite statements which must be either true or 
false, and a clearly defined goal which we must either 
accept or refuse. If the statements be false, and if the 
goal be worthless, it is of the highest importance that the 
former should be refuted and the latter discredited. But 
if the diagnosis be correct and the aim worthy, it is at 
least of equal importance that this should be generally 
recognized : for we cannot wish to perpetuate as the basis 
of our sociology a view of life that is demonstrably false 
or a purpose demonstrably contrary to our conception of 
the good. 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

This book is designed, therefore, not as an addition to 
our already over burdened libraries of information, but 
as a definite contribution to the philosophy of life. Our 
study of alien modes of thought and feeling, if it is 
to be of any real use to us, must be inspired by other 
than curious motives or a desire to justify our own 
system. For the common civilization of the world we 
need a common will, a recognition of common problems, 
and to co-operate in their solution. At this moment, 
when the Western world is beginning to realize that it 
has failed to attain the fruit of life in a society based 
on competition and self-assertion, thefc lies a profound 
significance in the discovery of Asiatic thought, where 
it is affirmed with no uncertain voice that the fruit of 
life can only be attained in a society based on the con- 
ception of moral order and mutual responsibility. Let 
me illustrate by a single quotation the marvellous direct- 
ness and sincerity of the social ethic to which the 
psychology of Buddhism affords its sanction : Victory 
breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. 
Stories are told of Asiatic rulers paying the price of 
kingdoms for a single word of profitable counsel. One 
may well inquire whether any conceivable price could 
have been too high for Europe to have paid for a general 
recognition of this truth, ere now. There is, again, a 
passage of the Ruru-deer Jataka which is perhaps unique 
in all literature in its supreme tenderness and courtesy: 
For who — the Bodhisattva asks — would willingly use 
harsh speech to those who have done a sinful deed, 
strewing salt, as it were, upon the wound of their 
fault ? 

It is with gifts such as this that Buddhism, and the 
Hinduism from which it issues and into which it has 
vi 



Preface 

again merged, stand over against the world of laissez 
/aire, demanding of their followers only the abandon- 
ment of all resentment, coveting, and dulness, and offering 
in return a happiness and peace beyond our reasonable 
understanding. Can we deny that modes of thought 
which find expression thus must for ever command*our 
deepest sympathy and most profound consideration ? 
It is not possible that liberation from resentment, 
coveting, and dulness, should ever be ill-timed : and 
it is just this liberation which constitutes the ethical 
factor in Nibbana, where the psychological part is self- 
forgetfulness. 

It will be plainly seen to what extent I am indebted to the 
work of other scholars and students, and I wish to make 
a frank and grateful acknowledgment to all those from 
whose work I have freely quoted, particularly Professor 
and Mrs Rhys Davids and Professor Oldenberg, as well 
as to others to whom I am indebted for the use of photo- 
graphs. The latter, reproduced in monochrome, illustrate 
the history of Buddhist art : but beside this, the work of 
modern Indian painters illustrating Buddhist thought and 
legend is reproduced in colour. 

A few suggestions may be useful as a guide to pro- 
nunciation. Vowels generally are pronounced as in 
Italian: a as in Ame7'ica, a as in father, e as a in nave, 
i as in it, I as ee in gi'eet, o as in note, u as oo in room, 
u as oo in boot : ai has the sound of i in bite, au the sound 
of ow in cow. Every consonant is distinctly pronounced, 
and aspirates are distinctly heard. C has the sound of 
ch in church, while s in some cases has the sound of sh, 
e.g. in Siva, Isvara, Sankara, etc. The accent falls on 
the first syllable or the third, rarely or never on the 
second. 

vii 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

Certain words, such as kamma, Nibbana, Bodhisatta, etc., 
are quoted in these Pali forms where Hinayana Buddhism 
is in question, and in the more familiar Sanskrit forms 
karma, Nirvana, Bodhisattva, where the reference is to 
Mahayana. 

ANANDA COOMARASWAMY 

London, February 8, 1916 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

PART I : THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 9 

PART II : THE GOSPEL OF EARLY 
BUDDHISM 

I DHAMMA 90 

II SAMSARA AND KAMMA (KARMA) 104 

III BUDDHIST HEAVENS AND HOW TO REACH 

THEM no 

IV NIBBANA 115 
V ETHICS 126 

VI CONSCIENCE 137 

VII SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 141 

VIII CONSOLATION 148 

IX THE ORDER 151 

X TOLERANCE 155 

XI WOMEN 159 

XII EARLY BUDDHISM AND NATURE 166 

XIII BUDDHIST PESSIMISM 176 

XIV A BUDDHIST EMPEROR 180 

PART III : CONTEMPORARY SYSTEMS 

I VEDANTA 187 

II SAMKHYA 194 

III YOGA 196 

IV BUDDHISM AND BRAHMANISM 198 

A I 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

PART TV : THE MAHAYANA PAGE 

I BEGINNINGS OF THE MAHAYANA 222 

II SYSTEM OF THE MAHAYANA 226 

III CH'AN, OR ZEN BUDDHISM 252 

PART V : BUDDHIST ART 

I LITERATURE 259 

II SCULPTURE AND PAINTING 323 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 347 

GLOSSARY 351 

INDEX 359 



LIST OF PLATES 

Facing 

PLATE fuge 

A The Forty-Nine Days (Ceylon) 36 

B The First Sermon (Sarnath) 38 

C The First Sermon (Nepal) 40 

D The Buddha Teaching (Japan) 42 

E Standing Image of the Buddha (Mathura) 46 

F Rock-cut Image of the Buddha (Long-men, China) 52 

G Standing Image of the Buddha with Attendants 

(Chinese) 66 

H The Quelling of Malagiri (AmaravatI) 68 

J The Death of the Buddha (Polonnaruva) 80 

K The Buddha in Samadhi (Anuradhapura) 146 

L Buddhist Monk (Chinese) 152 

M Monastery and Temple-Court (Chinese) 154 

N Buddhist Temples in Ceylon 156 

O SanchI Stupa and Gateway 184 

P Capital of Asoka Column (Sarnath) 186 

Q Lay-Worshippers at a Buddha Shrine (AmaravatI) 224 

R Avalokitesvara (Nepal) 230 

S Maitreya (Ceylon) 236 

T Mara's Battle and a Buddhist Library (Ceylon) 262 

U The Buddha Teaching (Laos) 274 

3 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Facing 

PLATE page 

W Yakkhi and Nagaraja (Bharhut) 322 

X Yakkhi (Sanchi) 324 

Y Standing Image of the Buddha (Anuradhapura) 326 

Z Images of the Buddha and of Bodhisattvas (Ceylon 

and China) 328 

AA The First Sermon (Gandhara) 330 

BB The Buddha (Cambodia) 332 

CC Bodhisattva, perhaps Avalokitesvara (Ajanta) 334 

DD Manjusri (Java) 336 

EE Bodhisattva (China) 338 

FF The Buddha (China) 340 

GG Kwanyin (Japan) 342 

HH Kwanyin (China) 344 



LIST OF PLATES IN COLOUR 

The Temptation of Buddha Nanda Lai Bose Frontispiece 

PAGE 

The Departure of Buddha Nanda Lai Bose 24 

Sujata and the Bowl of Milk-rice Nanda Lai Bose 30 

Yasodhara and Rahula Nanda Lai Bose 50 

Buddha and Ananda Nanda Lai Bose 76 

The Final Release Abanindro Nath Tagore 88 

The Victory of Buddha Abanindro Nath Tagore 126 

Buddha as Mendicant Abanindro Nath Tagore 150 



QUOTATIONS 

I will go down to self-annihilation and eternal death, 
Lest the Last Judgment come and find me unannihilate, 
And L be seized and giv'n into the hands of my own Selfhood. 

Blake, " Milton. n 

But, alas, how hard it is for the Will to sink into nothing, to attract 
nothing, to imagine nothing. 

Let it be granted that it is so. Ls it not surely worth thy while, and all 
that thou canst ever do ? 

Behmen, "Dialogues? 

Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you. You must travel it 
for yourself . 

Walt Whitman. 

You cannot step twice into the same waters, for fresh waters are ever 
flowing in upon you. 

Herakleitus. 

Vraiement comencent amours en ioye et fynissent en dolours. 

Merlin. 

By a man without passions I mean one who does not permit good and 
evil to disturb his internal economy, but rather falls in with whatever 
happens, as a matter of course, and does not add to the sum of his 
mortality. 

Chuang Tau. 

Profound, O Vaccha, is this doctrine, recondite, and difficult of compre- 
hension, good, excellent, and not to be reached by mere reasoning, subtile, 
and intelligible only to the wise ; and it is a hard doctrine for you to learn, 
who belong to another sect, to another faith, to another persuasion, to 
another discipline, and sit at the feet of another teacher. 

1 Majjhima Mkaya,' " Sutta 72" 



BUDDHA AND THE 
GOSPEL OF BUDDHISM 



PART I : THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 

His Birth 

THE name Buddha, * the Knower,' ' the Enlightened,' 
'the Wake/ is the appellation by which the 
wandering preaching friar Gautama became best 
known to his disciples. Of this man we are able to say 
with some certainty that he was born in the year 563 B.C. 
and died in 483 B.C. He was the heir of a ruling 
house of the Sakyas, whose little kingdom, a rich irrigated 
plain between the Nepalese foot-hills and the river Rapti, 
lay to the north-east of the present province of Oudh. 
To the south-west lay the larger and more powerful 
kingdom of the Kosalas, to whom the Sakyas owed a 
nominal allegiance. The Buddha's personal name was 
Siddhattha, his family name Gautama, his father's name 
Suddhodana, his mother's Maya. It is only in later 
legend that Suddhodana is represented as a great king; 
most likely he was in fact a wealthy knight and land- 
owner. Siddhattha's mother died seven days after his birth, 
and her sister Mahajapati, another wife of Suddhodana, 
filled the place of mother to the young prince. He was 
brought up in Kapilavatthu, a busy provincial capital ; he 
was trained in martial exercises, riding, and outdoor life 
generally, and in all knightly accomplishments, but it is 
not indicated in the early books that he was accomplished 
in Brahmanical lore. In accordance with the custom of well- 
to-do youths, he occupied three different houses in winter, 
summer, and the rainy season, these houses being provided 
with beautiful pleasure gardens and a good deal of simple 
luxury. It is recorded that he was married, and had a 
son, by name Rahula, who afterwards became his disciple. 
Siddhattha experienced the intellectual and spiritual 

9 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

unrest of his age, and felt a growing dissatisfaction with 
the world of pleasure in which he moved, a dissatisfaction 
rooted in the fact of its transience and uncertainty, and of 
man's subjection to all the ills of mortality. Suddhodana 
feared that these thoughts would lead to the loss of his 
son, who would become a hermit, as was the tendency 
of the thinkers of the time; and these fears were well 
founded, for in spite of every pleasure and luxury that 
could be devised to withhold him, Siddhattha ultimately 
left his home to adopt the ' homeless life ' of the 
'Wanderer/ a seeker after truth that should avail to 
liberate all men from the bondage of mortality, Such 
enlightenment he found after years of search. Thereafter, 
during a long ministry as a wandering preacher, he taught 
the Four Ariyan Truths and the Eightfold Path ; attract- 
ing many disciples, he founded a monastic order as a 
refuge for higher men, the seekers for everlasting freedom 
and unshakable peace. He died at the age of eighty. 
After his death his disciples gathered together the 
"Words of the Enlightened One," and from this nucleus 
there grew up in the course of a few centuries the whole 
body of the Pali canon, and ultimately, under slightly 
different interpretation, the whole mass of the Mahayana 
Sutras. That so much of the story represents literal fact 
is not only very possible, but extremely probable; for 
there is nothing here which is not in perfect accordance 
with the life of that age and the natural development of 
Indian thought. We know, for example, that many 
groups of wandering ascetics were engaged in the same 
quest, and that they were largely recruited from an intel- 
lectual and social aristocracy to whom the pretensions of 
Brahmanical priestcraft were no longer acceptable, and who 
were no less out of sympathy with the multitudinous cults 
10 



The Legendary Buddha 

of popular animism. We know the name of at least one 
other princely ascetic, Vardhamana, a contemporary of the 
Buddha, and the founder of the monastic system of the 
Jainas. 

The Legendary Buddha 

But while it is easy to extract from the Buddhist books 
such a nucleus of fact as is outlined above, the materials 
for a more circumstantial biography of the Buddha, 
extensive as they are, cannot be regarded as historical in 
the scientific usage of the word. What .is, however, far 
more important than the record of fact, is the expression 
of all that the facts, as understood, implied to those to 
whom they were a living inspiration ; and it is just this 
expression of what the life of Buddha meant to Buddhists, 
or Bauddhas, as the followers of Gautama are more 
properly called, that we find in the legendary lives, such 
as the Lalitavistara, which is familiar to Western readers 
in Sir Edwin Arnold's Light of Asia. Here, then, we 
shall relate the life of Buddha in some detail, from the 
various sources indicated, 1 regardless of the fact that these 
presuppose a doctrinal development which can only have 
taken place after the Buddha's death ; for the miraculous 
and mythological elements are always very transparent 
and artistic. The history of the Buddha begins with the 
resolve of the individual Brahman Sumedha, long ago, to 
become a Buddha in some future birth, that he might spread 
abroad saving truth for the help of suffering humanity. 
Countless ages ago this same Sumedha, retiring one day 
to the upper chamber of his house, seated himself and 
fell into thought : " Behold, I am subject to birth, to 

1 Chiefly the Nidanakatha (introduction to the Pali Jatakas), the 
Maha Parinibbana Sutta, and the Lalitavistara. 

II 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

decay, to disease, and to death; it is right, then, that I 
should strive to win the great deathless Nibbana, which 
is tranquil, and free from birth and decay, sickness, and 
woe and weal. Surely there must be a road that leads to 
Nibbana and releases man from existence." Accordingly, 
he gave away all his wealth and adopted the life of a 
hermit in the forest. At that time Dipankara Buddha 
appeared in the world, and attained enlightenment. It 
happened one day that Dipankara Buddha was to pass 
that way, and men were preparing the road for him. 
Sumedha asked and received permission to join in the 
work, and not only did he do so, but when Dipankara 
came Sumedha laid himself down in the mud, so that the 
Buddha might walk upon his body without soiling his 
feet. Then Dlpankara's attention was aroused and he 
became aware of Sumedha's intention to become a Buddha, 
and, looking countless ages into the future, he saw that he 
would become a Buddha of the name of Gautama, and he 
prophesied accordingly. Thereupon Sumedha rejoiced, 
and, rejecting the immediate prospect of becoming an 
Arahat, as the disciple of Dipankara, " Let me rather," 
he said, " like Dipankara, having risen to the supreme 
knowledge of the truth, enable all men to enter the ship 
of truth, and thus I may bear them over the Sea of 
Existence, and then only let me realize Nibbana myself." 

Incarnation of the Buddha 

When Dipankara with all his followers had passed by 
Sumedha examined the Ten Perfections indispensable to 
Buddahood, and determined to practise them in his future 
births. So it came to pass, until in the last of these births 
the Bodhisatta was reborn as Prince Vessantara, who 
exhibited the Perfection of Supernatural Generosity, and 
12 



Incarnation of the Buddha 

in due time passed away and dwelt in the Heaven of 
Delight. When the time had come, for the Bodhisatta 
to return to earth for the last time, the deities of the ten 
thousand world-systems assembled together, and, approach- 
ing the Bodhisatta in the Heaven of Delight, said: 
" Now has the moment come, O Blessed One, for thy 
Buddhahood ; now has the time, O Blessed One, arrived ! " 
Then the Bodhisatta considered the time, the continent, 
the district, the tribe, and the mother, and, having deter- 
mined these, he assented, saying: "The time has come, 
O Blessed Ones, for me to become a Buddha." And even 
as he was walking there in the Grove of Gladness he 
departed thence and was conceived in the womb of the 
lady Maha Maya. The manner of the conception is ex- 
plained as follows. At the time of the midsummer festival 
in Kapilavatthu, Maha Maya, the lady of Suddhodana, lay 
on her couch and dreamed a dream. She dreamt that 
the Four Guardians of the Quarters lifted her up and bore 
her away to the Himalayas, and there she was bathed in 
the Anotatta lake and lay down to rest on a heavenly 
couch within a golden mansion on Silver Hill. Then the 
Bodhisatta, who had become a beautiful white elephant, 
bearing in his trunk a white lotus flower, approached from 
the North, and seemed to touch her right side and to enter 
her womb. The next day when she awoke she related 
the dream to her lord, and it was interpreted by the 
Brahmans as follows : that the lady had conceived a man- 
child who, should he adopt the life of a householder, 
would become a Universal Monarch ; but if he adopted 
the religious life he would become a Buddha, removing from 
the world the veils of ignorance and sin. 
It should be told also that at the moment of the 
incarnation the heavens and the earth showed signs, the 

13 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

dumb spake, the lame walked, all men began to speak 
kindly, musical instruments played of themselves, the 
earth was covered with lotus flowers, and lotuses descended 
from the sky, and every tree put forth its flowers. From 
the moment of the incarnation, moreover, four angels 
guarded the Bodhisatta and his mother, to shield them 
from all harm. The mother was not weary, and she 
could perceive the child in her womb as plainly as one 
may see the thread in a transparent gem. The Lady 
Maha Maya carried the Bodhisatta thus for ten lunar 
months; at the end of that time she expressed a wish 
to visit her family in Devadaha ; and she set out on the 
journey. On the way from Kapilavatthu to Devadaha 
there is a pleasure-grove of Sal-trees belonging to the 
people of both cities, and at the time of the queen's 
journey it was filled with fruits and flowers. Here the 
queen desired to rest, and she was carried to the greatest 
of the Sal-trees and stood beneath it. As she raised her 
hand to take hold of one of its branches the pains came 
upon her, and so standing and holding the branch of the 
Sal-tree she was delivered. Four Brahma angels received 
the child in a golden net, and showed it to the mother, 
saying : " Rejoice, O Lady ! a great son is born to thee." 
The child stood upright, and took seven strides and 
cried : " I am supreme in the world. This is my last 
birth: henceforth there shall be no more birth for 
me!" 

At one and the same time there came into being the 
Seven Connatal Ones, viz., the mother of Rahula, Ananda 
the favourite disciple, Channa, the attendant, Kanthaka, 
the horse, Kaludayi, the minister, the great Bodhi tree, 
and the vases of Treasure. 



14 



Kala Devala 

Kala Devala 

When the Bodhisatta was born there was great rejoicing 
in the heaven of the Thirty-three Gods. At that time 
also a certain hermit by name Kala Devala, an adept, sat 
in trance, visiting the heaven of the Thirty-three, and 
seeing the rejoicing he learnt its cause. Immediately 
he returned to earth, and repaired to the palace, asking 
to see the new-born child. The prince was brought in 
to salute the great adept, but he rose from his seat and 
bowed to the child, saying : " I may not work my own 
destruction"; for assuredly if the child had been made 
to bow to his feet, the hermit's head would have split 
atwain, so much had it been against the order of nature. 
Now the adept cast backward and forward his vision over 
forty aeons, and perceived that the child would become 
a Buddha in his present birth : but he saw that he himself 
would die before the Great Enlightenment came to pass, 
and being reborn in the heaven of No-form, a hundred or 
even a thousand Buddhas might appear before he found 
the opportunity to become the disciple of any; and seeing 
this, he wept. He sent, however, for his nephew, then a 
householder, and advised him to become a hermit, for at 
the end of thirty-five years he would receive the teach- 
ing of the Buddha; and that same nephew, by name 
Nalaka, afterwards entered the order and became an 
Arahat. 

On the fifth day the name ceremonies were performed, 
and the child was call Siddhattha (Siddhartha). On this 
occasion eight soothsayers were present amongst the 
Brahmans, and of these seven foresaw that the child 
would become either a Universal Monarch or a Buddha, 
but the eighth, by name Kondanna, predicted that he 
would of a surety become a Buddha. This same 

15 



Buddha (§f the Gospel of Buddhism 

Kondanna afterwards belonged to the five who became 
the Buddha's first disciples. 

Then the prince's father inquired: "What will my son 
see, that will be the occasion of his forsaking the house- 
hold life ?" "The Four Signs," was the answer, "a man 
worn out by age, a sick man, a dead body, and a hermit." 
Then the king resolved that no such sights should ever be 
seen by his son, for he did not wish him to become a 
Buddha, but desired that he should rule the whole world ; 
and he appointed an innumerable and magnificent guard 
and retinue to protect his son from any such illumi- 
nating omens, and to occupy his mind with worldly 
pleasures. 

Seven days after the child's birth the Lady Maha Maya 
died, and was reborn in the heaven of the Thirty-three 
Gods, and Siddhattha was placed in the charge of his 
aunt and stepmother the Matron Gautami. And now came 
to pass another miracle, on the occasion of the Ploughing 
Festival. For while the king was inaugurating the 
ploughing with his own hands, and the nurses were 
preparing food, the Bodhisatta took his seat beneath 
a Jambu-tree, and, crossing his legs like a yogi, he 
exercised the first degree of contemplation ; and though 
time passed, the shadow of the tree did not move. When 
the king beheld that miracle he bowed to the child, 
and cried: "This, dear one, is the second homage paid 
to thee! " 

As the Bodhisatta grew up his father built for him three 
palaces, respectively of nine, five, and seven stories, and 
here he dwelt according to the seasons. Here the Bodhi- 
satta was surrounded by every luxury, and thousands of 
dancing-girls were appointed for his service and enter- 
tainment. Taken to the teachers of writing and the other 
16 



The Prince Marries 

arts, he soon surpassed them all, and he excelled in all 
martial exercises. 

The Prince Marries 

At the age of sixteen, the king sought for a wife for 
his son; for by domestic ties he hoped to attach him 
still more to the worldly life. The prince had already 
experienced the desire to become a hermit. But in order, 
as the books say, to conform with the custom of former 
Bodhisattas, he consented to marry, if it were possible 
to find a girl of perfect manners, wholly truthful, modest, 
congenial to his temperament, and of pure and honour- 
able birth, young and fair, but not proud of her beauty, 
charitable, contented in self-denial, tender as a sister 
or a mother, not desiring music, scents, festivities or 
wine, pure in thought and word and deed, the last to 
sleep and the first to rise in the house where she should 
dwell. Brahmans were sent far and wide to seek for 
such a maiden amongst the Sakya families. At last the 
choice fell upon Siddhattha's cousin Yasodhara, the 
daughter of Suprabuddha of Kapilavatthu. And the 
king devised a plan to engage the young man's heart. 
He made ready a display of beautiful jewels which 
Siddhattha was to distribute amongst the Sakya maidens. 
So it came to pass : but when all the jewels had been 
bestowed, Yasodhara came late, and there was nothing left 
for her. Thinking that she was despised, she asked if 
there was no gift meant for her. Siddhattha said there 
was no such thought in his mind, and he sent for other 
rings and bracelets and gave them to her. She said: 
"Is it becoming for me to receive such gifts?" and he 
answered: "They are mine to give." And so she 
went her way. Then Suddhodana's spies reported that 

b 17 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Siddhattha had cast his eyes only upon Yasodhara, and 
had entered into conversation with her. A message was 
sent to Suprabuddha asking for his daughter. The 
answer came that daughters of the family were only 
given to those who excelled in the various arts and 
martial exercises, and "could this be the case with one 
whose whole life had been spent in the luxury of a 
palace ? " Suddhodana was grieved because his son was 
considered to be indolent and weak. The Bodhisatta 
perceived his mood, and asked its cause, and being 
informed, he reassured his father, and advised that a 
contest in martial exercises should be proclaimed, and all 
the Sakya youths invited. So it was done. Then the 
Bodhisatta proved himself the superior of all, first in 
the arts of literature and numbers, then in wrestling 
and archery, and each and all of the sixty-four arts 
and sciences. When Siddhattha had thus shown his 
prowess, Suprabuddha brought his daughter to be 
affianced to the prince, and the marriage was celebrated 
with all magnificence. Amongst the defeated Sakyas 
were two cousins of the Buddha, the one Ananda, 
who afterwards became the favourite disciple, the 
other Devadatta, whose growing envy and jealousy 
made him the life-long enemy of the victor. 

The Four Signs 

The Bodhisatta is never entirely forgetful of his high 
calling. Yet it is needful that he should be reminded of 
the approaching hour ; and to this end the cosmic Buddhas 
made audible to Siddhattha, even as he sat and listened to 
the singing of the dancing-girls, the message — " Recollect 
thy vow, to save all living things : the time is at hand : this 
alone is the purpose of thy birth." And thus as the 
18 



The Four Signs 

Bodhisatta sat in his beautiful palaces day after day 
surrounded by all the physical and intellectual pleasures 
that could be devised by love or art, he felt an ever more 
insistent call to the fulfilment of his spiritual destiny. 
And now were to be revealed to him the Four Signs which 
were to be the immediate cause of the Great Renunciation. 
The Bodhisatta desired one day to visit the royal pleasure- 
gardens. His father appointed a day, and gave command 
that the city should be swept and garnished, and that every 
inauspicious sight should be removed, and none allowed 
to appear save those who were young and fair. The day 
came, and the prince drove forth with the charioteer 
Channa. But the Devas * are not to be diverted from their 
ends : and a certain one assumed the form of an old and 
decrepit man, and stood in the midst of the street. " What 
kind of a man is this?" said the Prince, and Channa 
replied, " Sire, it is an aged man, bowed down by years." 
"Are all men then," said the prince, "or this man only, 
subject to age ? " The charioteer could but answer that 
youth must yield to age in every living being. " Shame, 
then, on life ! " said the prince, " since the decay of every 
living thing is notorious ! " and he turned to his palace in 
sadness. When all that had taken place was reported to 
the king, he exclaimed: "This is my ruin!" and he 
devised more and more amusements, music and plays 
calculated to divert Siddhattha's mind from the thought 
of leaving the world. 

Again the prince drove out to visit the pleasure-gardens 
of Kapilavatthu : and on the way they met a sick man, thin 
and weak and scorched by fever. When the meaning of 
this spectacle was made clear by the charioteer, the 

1 Devas, the Olympian deities, headed by Sakka, who dwell in the 
Heaven of the Thirty-three : spiritual powers generally, ' gods.' 

19 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Bodhisatta exclaimed again : "If health be frail as the 
substance of a dream, who then can take delight in joy and 
pleasure ? " And the car was turned, and he returned to 
the palace. 

A third time the prince went forth, and now they met a 
corpse followed by mourners weeping and tearing their 
hair. " Why does this man lie on a bier," said the prince, 
" and why do they weep and beat their breasts ? " " Sire," 
said the charioteer, " he is dead, and may never more see 
his father or mother, children or home : he has departed to 
another world." " Woe then to such youth as is destroyed 
by age," exclaimed the prince, "and woe to the health 
that is destroyed by innumerable maladies ! Woe to the 
life so soon ended ! Would that sickness, age, and death 
might be for ever bound ! Turn back again, that I may 
seek a way of deliverance." 

When the Bodhisatta drove forth for the last time, he 
met a hermit, a mendicant friar. This Bhikkhu was self- 
possessed, serene, dignified, self-controlled, with downcast 
eyes, dressed in the garb of a religious and carrying a 
beggar's bowl. " Who is this man of so calm a temper ? " 
said the prince, " clothed in russet garments, and of such 
dignified demeanour ? " " Sire," said the charioteer, " He 
is a Bhikkhu, a religious, who has abandoned all longings 
and leads a life of austerity, he lives without passion or 
envy, and begs his daily food." The Bodhisatta answered 
"That is well done, and makes me eager for the same 
course of life : to become religious has ever been praised by 
the wise, and this shall be my refuge and the refuge of 
others and shall yield the fruit of life, and immortality." 
Again the Bodhisatta returned to his palace. 
When all these things had been reported to Suddhodana, 
he surrounded the prince's pleasure-palace by triple walls 
20 



The Great Renunciation 

and redoubled the guards, and he commanded the women 
of the palace to exercise all their charms, to divert the 
prince's thoughts by music and pleasure : and it was done 
accordingly. And now Yasodhara was troubled by 
portentous dreams : she dreamed that the land was 
devastated by storms, she saw herself naked and mutilated, 
her beautiful jewels broken, the sun the moon and the stars 
fell from the sky and Mount Meru sank into the great 
deep. When she related these dreams to the Bodhisatta, 
he replied in gentle tones : " You need not fear. It is to the 
good and the worthy alone that such dreams come, never 
to the base. Rejoice ! for the purport of all these dreams 
is that the bond of mortality shall be loosed, the veils of 
ignorance shall be rent asunder, for I have completely 
fulfilled the way of wisdom, and every one that has faith 
in me shall be saved from the three evils, without 
exception." 

The Great Renunciation 

The Bodhisatta reflected that he ought not to go forth as 
a Wanderer without giving notice to his father ; and there- 
fore he sought the king by night, and said : " Sire, the 
time is at hand for my going forth, do not hinder me, but 
permit me to depart." The king's eyes were charged with 
tears, and he answered : " What is there needful to change 
thy purpose ? Tell me whatever thou desirest and it shall 
be thine, be it myself, the palace, or the kingdom." The 
Bodhisatta replied, " Sire, I desire four things, pray thee 
grant them : the first, to remain for ever in possession of 
the fresh colour of youth ; the second, that sickness may 
never attack me; the third, that my life may have no 
term ; the last, that I may not be subject to decay." When 
the king heard these words, he was overcome by grief, for 

i 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

the prince desired what it was not possible for a man to 
bestow. Then the Bodhisatta continued: "If then I cannot 
avoid old age, sickness, death and decay, grant at least this 
one thing, that when I leave this world I may nevermore be 
subject to rebirth." And when the king could give no 
better answer, he granted his son's desire. But the next 
day he established an additional guard of five hundred 
young men of the Sakyas at each of the four gates of the 
palace, while the Matron Gautami established an amazon 
guard within ; for the king would not allow his son to 
depart with a free will. 

At the same time the captains of the Yakkhas 1 assembled 
together, and they said "To-day, my friends, the 
Bodhisatta is to go forth ; hasten to do him service." 
The Four Great Kings 2 commanded the Yakkhas to bear 
up the feet of the prince's horse. The Thirty-three Devas 
likewise assembled, and Sakka ordered their services, so 
that one should cast a heavy sleep on all the men and 
women and young men and maidens of Kapilavatthu, and 
another should silence the noise of the elephants, horses, 
camels, bulls and other beasts; and others constituted 
themselves an escort, to cast down a rain of flowers and 
perfume the air. Sakka himself announced that he would 
open the gates and show the way. 

On the morning of the day of the going forth, when the 
Bodhisatta was being attired, a message was brought to 
him that Yasodhara had borne him a son. He did not 
rejoice, but he said: "A bond has come into being, a 
hindrance for me." And the child received the name of 
Rahula or ' Hindrance ' accordingly. The same day the 
Bodhisatta drove again in the city, and a certain noble 

1 Yakkhas, nature spirits. 

2 The Four Kings, Guardians of the Four Quarters. 
22 



The Great Renunciation 

virgin, by name Kisa Gotami, stood on the roof of her 
palace and beheld the beauty and majesty of the future 
Buddha as he passed by, and she made a song : 

Blessed indeed is the mother, blessed indeed the 

father, 
Blessed indeed is the wife, whose is a lord so 

glorious ! 

On hearing this the Bodhisatta thought : " She does but 
say that the heart of a mother, or a father, or a wife is 
gladdened by such a sight. But by what can every heart 
attain to lasting happiness and peace ? " The answer arose 
in his mind : " When the fire of lust is extinguished, then 
there is peace; and when the fires of resentment and 
glamour are dead, then there is peace. Sweet is the lesson 
this singer has taught me, for it is the Nibbana of peace 
that I have sought. This day I shall relinquish the 
household life, nothing will I seek but Nibbana itself." 
And taking from his neck the string of pearls he sent it as 
a teacher's fee to Kisa Gotami. But she thought that the 
prince loved her, and sent her a gift because of his love. 
That night the singers and the dancing-girls exerted 
themselves to please the prince: fair as the nymphs of 
heaven, they danced and sang and played. But the 
Bodhisatta, his heart being estranged from sin, took no 
pleasure in the entertainment, and fell asleep. And the 
women seeing that he slept, laid aside their instruments 
and fell asleep likewise. And when the lamps that were 
fed with scented oil were on the point of dying, the 
Bodhisatta awoke, and he saw the girls that had seemed 
so fair, in all the disarray of slumber. And the king's 
son, seeing them thus dishevelled and disarrayed, breathing 
heavily, yawning and sprawling in unseemly attitudes, 

2 3 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

was moved to scorn. " Such is the true nature of women," 
he thought, " but a man is deceived by dress and jewels and 
is deluded by a woman's beauties. If a man would but con- 
sider the natural state of women and the change that comes 
upon them in sleep, assuredly he would not cherish his folly ; 
but he is smitten from a right will, and so succumbs to 
passion." And therewith he resolved to accomplish the 
Great Renunciation that very night, and at that very time, 
for it seemed to him that every mode of existence on earth 
or in heaven most resembled a delay in a house already 
become the prey of devouring flames ; and his mind was 
irresistibly directed towards the state of those who have 
renounced the world. 

The Bodhisatta therefore rose from his couch and called 
for Channa; and the charioteer, who was sleeping with 
his head on the threshold, rose and said: "Sire, I am 
here." Then the Bodhisatta said : " I am resolved to 
accomplish the Great Renunciation to-day; saddle my 
horse." And Channa went out to the stable and saddled 
Kanthaka: and the horse knew what was the reason of 
his being saddled, and neighed for joy, so that the whole 
city would have been aroused, had it not been that the 
Devas subdued the sound, so that no one heard it. Now 
while Channa was away in the stable yard, the Bodhisatta 
thought: "I will take one look at my son," and he went 
to the door of Yasodhara's chamber. The Mother of 
Rahula was asleep on a bed strewn thick with jasmine 
flowers, and her hand was resting on her son's head. The 
Bodhisatta stopped with his foot upon the threshold, for 
he thought : " If I lift her hand to take up my son, she 
will awake, and my departure will be hindered. I will 
return and see him after I have attained enlightenment." 
Then he went forth, and seeing the horse ready saddled, 
24 



II 

THE DEPARTURE OF BUDDHA 

Nanda Lal Bose 

Page 24 



The Great Renunciation 

he said, "Good Kanthaka, do thou save me this night, 
to the end that I may become a Buddha by thy help and 
may save the worlds of men and gods." Kanthaka 
neighed again, but the sound of his voice was heard by 
none. 

So the Bodhisatta rode forth, followed by Channa: 
the Yakkhas bore up the feet of Kanthaka so that they 
made no sound, and when they came to the guarded gates 
the angel standing thereby caused them to open silently. 
At that moment Mara the Fiend appeared in the air, and 
tempted the Bodhisatta, exclaiming : " Go not forth, my 
lord! for within seven days from this the Wheel of 
Sovereignty will appear, and will make you ruler of the 
four continents and the myriad islands. Go not forth ! " 
The Bodhisatta replied : " Mara ! well I know that this 
is sooth. But I do not seek the sovereignty of the world. 
I would become a Buddha, to make tens of thousands of 
worlds rejoice." And so the tempter left him, but 
resolved to follow him ever like a shadow, to lay hold of 
the occasion, if ever a thought of anger or desire should 
arise in the Bodhisatta's heart. It was on the full-moon 
day of Asadha when the prince departed from the city. 
His progress was accompanied by pomp and glory, for 
the gods and angels bore myriads of torches before and 
behind him, and a rain of beautiful flowers was cast down 
from the heaven of Indra, so that the very flanks of 
Kanthaka were covered. In this way the Bodhisatta 
advanced a great distance, until they reached and passed 
over the river Anoma. When they were come to the 
other side, the Bodhisatta alighted upon the sandy shore 
and said to Channa : " Good Channa, the time has come 
when thou must return, and take with thee all my jewels 
together with Kanthaka, for I am about to become a 

2 5 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

hermit and a wanderer in these forests. Grieve not for 
me, but mourn for those who stay behind, bound by 
longings of which the fruit is sorrow. It is my resolve 
to seek the highest good this very day, for what con- 
fidence have we in life when death is ever at hand ? And 
do you comfort the king, and so speak with him that he 
may not even remember me, for where affection is lost, 
there is no sorrow." But Channa protested, and prayed 
the Bodhisatta to take pity upon the king, and upon 
Yasodhara and on the city of Kapilavatthu. But again the 
Bodhisatta answered : " Even were I to return to my kin- 
dred by reason of affection, yet we should be divided in the 
end by death. The meeting and parting of living things is 
as when the clouds having come together drift apart again, 
or as when the leaves are parted from the trees. There 
is nothing we may call our own in a union that is nothing 
but a dream. Therefore, since it is so, go, and grieve 
not, and say to the people of Kapilavatthu : ' Either he 
will soon return, the conqueror of age and death, or he 
himself will fail and perish.' " Then Channa too would 
have become a hermit: but the Bodhisatta answered 
again: "If your love is so great, yet go, deliver the 
message, and return." 

Then the Bodhisatta took the sharp sword that Channa 
bore and severed with it his long locks and jewelled crest 
and cast them into the waters : and at the moment when 
he felt the need of a hermit's dress, there appeared an 
angel in the guise of a hunter clad in the russet robes of 
a forest-sage and he, receiving the white muslin garments 
of the prince, rendered to him the dark red robes in return, 
and so departed. 

Now Kanthaka attended to all that had been said, and he 
licked the Bodhisatta's feet; and the prince spoke to 
26 



The Search for the Way of Escape 

him as to a friend, and said : " Grieve not, O Kanthaka, 
for thy perfect equine nature has been proved — bear with 
it, and soon thy pain shall bear its fruit." But Kanthaka, 
thinking : " From this day forth I shall never see my 
master more," went out of their sight, and there died of a 
broken heart and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty- 
three. Then Channa's grief was doubled; and torn by 
the second sorrow of the death of Kanthaka, he returned 
to the city weeping and wailing, and the Bodhisatta was 
left alone. 

The Search for The Way of Escape 
The Bodhisatta remained for a week in the Mango-grove 
of Anupiya, and thereafter he proceeded to Rajagaha, the 
chief town of Magadha. He begged his food from door 
to door, and the beauty of his person cast the whole city 
into commotion. When this was made known to the 
king Bimbisara, he went to the place where the Bodhi- 
satta was sitting, and offered to bestow upon him the 
whole kingdom : but again the Bodhisatta refused the 
royal throne, for he had already abandoned all in the hope 
of attaining enlightenment, and did not desire a worldly 
empire. But he granted the king's request that when he 
had found the way, he would preach it first in that same 
kingdom. 

It is said that when the Bodhisatta entered a hermitage 
for the first time (and this was before he proceeded to 
Rajagaha) he found the sages practising many and strange 
penances, and he inquired their meaning, and what was the 
purpose that each endeavoured to achieve and received 
the answer — " By such penances endured for a time, 
by the higher they attain heaven, and by the lower, 
favourable fruit in the world of men : by pain they come 

27 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

at last to happiness, for pain, they say, is the root of 
merit." But to him it seemed that here there was no way 
of escape — here too, men endured misery for the sake of 
happiness, and that happiness itself, rightly understood, 
consisted in pain, for it must ever be subject to mortality 
and to rebirth. " It is not the effort itself which I blame," 
he said, " which casts aside the base and follows a higher 
path of its own : but the wise in sooth, by all this heavy 
toil, ought to attain to the state where nothing ever needs 
to be done again. And since it is the mind that controls 
the body, it is thought alone that should be restrained. 
Neither purity of food nor the waters of a sacred river can 
cleanse the heart : water is but water, but the true place of 
pilgrimage is the virtue of the virtuous man." 
And now, rejecting with courtesy the king's offers, the 
Bodhisatta made his way to the hermitage of the renowned 
sage Alara Kalama and became his disciple, learning the 
successive degrees of ecstatic meditation. Alara taught, 
it is clear, the doctrine of the Atman, saying that the sage 
who is versed in the Supreme Self, "having abolished 
himself by himself, sees that nought exists and is called 
a Nihilist : then, like a bird from its cage, the soul escaping 
from the body, is declared to be set free: this is that 
supreme Brahman, constant, eternal, and without distinctive 
signs, which the wise who know reality declare to be 
liberation." But Gautama (and it is by this name that 
the books now begin to speak of the Bodhisatta) ignores 
the phrase "without distinctive signs," and with verbal 
justification quarrels with the animistic and dualistic 
terminology of soul and body : a liberated soul, he argued, 
is still a soul, and whatever the condition it attains, must 
be subject to rebirth, "and since each successive re- 
nunciation is held to be still accompanied by qualities, I 
28 



The Search for the Way of Escape 

maintain that the absolute attainment of our end is only 
to be found in the abandonment of everything." * 
And now leaving the hermitages of Rajagaha the Bodhi- 
satta, seeking something beyond, repaired to a forest near 
to the village of Uruvela and there abode on the pure bank 
of the Nairanjana. There five wanderers, begging hermits, 
came to him, for they were persuaded that ere long he would 
attain enlightenment: and the leader of these was Kondanna, 
the erstwhile Brahman soothsayer who had prophesied at 
the festival of the Bodhisatta's name day. And now 
thinking: "This may be the means to conquer birth and 
death," Gautama for six years practised there an austere 
rule of fasting and of mortification, so that his glorious 
body wasted away to skin and bone. He brought himself 
to feed on a single sesamum seed or a grain of rice, 
until one day, as he paced to and fro, he was overcome by 
a severe pain, and fainted and fell. Then certain of the 
Devas exclaimed " Gautama is dead 1 " and some reported 
it to Suddhodana the king at Kapilavatthu. But he 
replied : " I may not believe it. Never would my son die 
without attaining enlightenment." For he did not forget 
the miracle at the foot of the Jambu-tree, nor the day when 
the great sage Kala Devala had been compelled to offer 
homage to the child. And the Bodhisatta recovered, 
and stood up ; and again the gods reported it to the king. 
Now the fame of the Bodhisatta's exceeding penances 
became spread abroad, as the sound of a great bell is 

1 We recognize here the critical moment where Buddhist and Brahman 
thought part company on the question of the Atman. Whether Alara 
failed to emphasize the negative aspect of the doctrine of the Brahman, or 
Gautama (who is represented as so far entirely innocent of Brahmanical 
philosophy) failed to distinguish the neuter Brahman from the god 
Brahma, we cannot tell. The question is discussed at greater length 
in Part III, Chapter IV. (p. 198 f.) 

29 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

heard in the sky. But he perceived that mortification 
was not the road to enlightenment and to liberation — 
" that was the true way that I found beneath the Jambu- 
tree, and it cannot be attained by one who has lost his 
strength." And so again the Great Being resolved to 
beg his food in towns and villages, that his health and 
strength might be restored. This was in the thirtieth 
year of the life of Gautama. But the Five Disciples 
reflected that Gautama had not been able to attain en- 
lightenment even by six years of the most severe austerities, 
"and how can he do so now, when he goes and begs in the 
villages and eats of ordinary food?" — and they departed 
from him and went to the suburb of Benares called 
Isipatana. 

The Supreme Enlightenment 

Now during the time that Gautama had been dwelling in 
the forest near by Uruvela, the daughter of the village 
headman, by name Sujata, had been accustomed to make a 
daily offering of food to eight hundred Brahmans, making 
the prayer — "May the Bodhisatta at length, receive an 
offering of food from me, attain enlightenment, and become 
a Buddha ! " And now that the time had come when he 
desired to receive nourishing food, a Deva appeared in 
the night to Sujata and announced that the Bodhisatta 
had put aside his austerities and desired to partake of 
good and nourishing food, " and now shall your prayer be 
accomplished. " Then Sujata with all speed arose early 
and went to her father's herd. Now for a long time she 
had been accustomed to take the milk of a thousand cows 
and to feed therewith five hundred, and again with their 
milk to feed two hundred and fifty, and so on until eight 
only were fed with the milk of the rest, and this she called 
30 



Ill 

SUJATA AND THE BOWL OF MILK-RICE 
Nanda Lal Bose 

Page 30 



The Supreme Enlightenment 

"working the milk in and in." It was the full-moon day 
of the month of May when she received the message of the 
gods, and rose early, and milked the eight cows, and took 
the milk and boiled it in new pans, and prepared milk-rice. 
At the same time she sent her maid Punna to the foot of 
the great tree where she had been wont to lay her daily 
offerings. Now the Bodhisatta, knowing that he would 
that day attain Supreme Enlightenment, was sitting at the 
foot of the tree, awaiting the hour for going forth to beg 
his food ; and such was his glory that all the region of the 
East was lit up. The girl thought that it was the spirit 
of the tree who would deign to receive the offering with 
his own hands. When she returned to Sujata and reported 
this, Sujata embraced her and bestowed on her the jewels 
of a daughter, and exclaimed, " Henceforth thou shalt be 
to me in the place of an elder daughter 1 " And sending 
for a golden vessel she put the well-cooked food therein, 
and covered it with a pure white cloth, and bore it with 
dignity to the foot of the great Nigrodha-tree; and there 
she too saw the Bodhisatta, and believed him to be the 
spirit of the tree. Sujata approached him, and placed the 
vessel in his hand, and she met his gaze and said : " My 
lord, accept what I have offered thee," and she added 
" May there arise to thee as much of joy as has come to 
mel " and so she departed. 

The Bodhisatta took the golden bowl, and went down to 
the bank of the river and bathed, and then dressing himself 
in the garb of an Arahat, he again took his seat, with his 
face towards the East. He divided the rice into forty- 
nine portions, and this food sufficed for his nourishment 
during the forty-nine days following the Enlightenment. 
When he had finished eating the milk rice, he took the 
golden vessel and cast it into the stream, saying " If I am 

3i 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

able to attain Enlightenment to-day, let this pot go up 
stream, but if not, may it go down stream." And he threw 
it into the water, and it went swiftly up the river until it 
reached the whirlpool of the Black Snake King, and there 
it sank. 

The Bodhisatta spent the heat of the day in a grove of 
Sal-trees beside the stream. But in the evening he made 
his way to the foot of the tree of wisdom, and there, 
making the resolution : "Though my skin, my nerves and 
my bones should waste away and my life-blood dry, I will 
not leave this seat until I have attained Supreme Enlighten- 
ment," he took his seat with his face towards the East. 
At this moment Mara the Fiend became aware that the 
Bodhisatta had taken his seat with a view to attaining 
Perfect Enlightenment; and thereupon, summoning the 
hosts of the demons, and mounting his elephant of war, 
he advanced towards the Tree of Wisdom. And there 
stood Maha Brahma holding above the Bodhisatta a 
white canopy of state, and Sakka, blowing the great 
trumpet, and with them were all the companies of gods 
and angels. But so terrible was the array of Mara that 
there was not one of all this host of the Devas that dared 
to remain to face him. The Great Being was left alone. 
First of all, however, Mara assumed the form of a 
messenger, with disordered garments, and panting in haste, 
bearing a letter from the Sakya princes. And in the letter 
it was written that Devadatta had usurped the kingdom 
of Kapilavatthu and entered the Bodhisatta's palace, taken 
his goods and his wife, and cast Suddhodana into prison 
and they prayed him to return to restore peace and order. 
But the Bodhisatta reflected lust it was that had caused 
Devadatta thus to misuse the women, malice had made 
him imprison Suddhodana, while the Sakyas neutralized 
32 



The Supreme Enlightenment 

by cowardice failed to defend their King : and so reflecting 
on the folly and weakness of the natural heart, his own 
resolve to attain a higher and better state was strengthened 
and confirmed. 1 

Failing in this device, Mara now advanced to the assault 
with all his hosts, striving to overcome the Bodhisatta 
first by a terrible whirlwind, then by a storm of rain, causing 
a mighty flood : but the hem of the Bodhisatta's robe was 
not stirred, nor did a single drop of water reach him. Then 
Mara cast down upon him showers of rocks, and a storm 
of deadly and poisoned weapons, burning ashes and coals, 
and a storm of scorching sand and flaming mud ; but all 
these missiles only fell at the Bodhisatta's feet as a rain 
of heavenly flowers, or hung in the air like a canopy above 
his head. Nor could he be moved by an onset of thick 
and fourfold darkness. Then finding all these means to 
fail, he addressed the Bodhisatta and said : " Arise, 
Siddhattha, from that seat, for it is not thine, but mine ! " 
The Bodhisatta replied, "Mara! thou hast not accom- 
plished the Ten Perfections, nor even the minor virtues. 
Thou hast not sought for knowledge, nor for the salvation 
of the world. The seat is mine." Then Mara was enraged, 
and cast at the Bodhisatta his Sceptre-javelin, which 
cleaves asunder a pillar of solid rock like a tender shoot 
of cane : and all the demon hosts hurled masses of rock. 
But the javelin hung in the air like a canopy, and the 
masses of rock fell down as garlands of flowers. 
Then the Great Being said to Mara: "Mara, who is the 
witness that thou hast given alms ?" Mara stretched forth 
his hand, and a shout arose from the demon hosts, of a 

1 C/., " The sages of old first got Tao for themselves, and then got it for 
others. Before you possess this yourself, what leisure have you to 
attend to the doings of wicked men?" — Chuang Tzu. See also p. 126. 

c 33 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

thousand voices crying: "I am his witness!" Then the 
Fiend addressed the Bodhisatta, and enquired: "Sidd- 
hattha! who is the witness that thou has given alms?" 
and the Great Being answered : " Mara thou hast many 
and living witnesses that thou hast given alms, and no 
such witnesses have I. But apart from the alms I have 
given in other births, I call upon this solid earth to 
witness to my supernatural generosity when I was born 
as Vessantara." And drawing his right hand from his 
robe, he stretched it forth to touch the earth, and said : " Do 
you or do you not witness to my supernatural generosity 
when I was born as Vessantara ? " And the great Earth 
replied with a voice of thunder: "I am witness of that." 
And thereat the great elephant of Mara bowed down in 
adoration, and the demon hosts fled far away in dread. 
Then Mara was abashed. But he did not withdraw, for 
he hoped to accomplish by another means what he could 
not effect by force: he summoned his three daughters, 
Tanha, Rati, and Raga, and they danced before the 
Bodhisatta like the swaying branches of a young leafy 
tree, using all the arts of seduction known to beautiful 
women. Again they offered him the lordship of the earth, 
and the companionship of beautiful girls : they appealed 
to him with songs of the season of spring, and exhibited 
their supernatural beauty and grace. But the Bodhi- 
satta' s heart was not in the least moved, and he answered : 
Pleasure is brief as a flash of lightning 
Or like an Autumn shower, only for a moment. . . 
Why should I then covet the pleasures you speak of? 
I see your bodies are full of all impurity : 
Birth and death, sickness and age are yows. 
I seek the highest prize, hard to attain by men — 
The true and constant wisdom of the wise. 

34 



The Supreme Enlightenment 

And when they could not shake the Bodhisatta's calm, 
they were filled with shame, and abashed : and they made 
a prayer to the Bodhisatta, wishing him the fruition of 
his labour: 

That which your heart desires^ may you attain^ 
And finding for yourself deliverance \ deliver all I x 

And now the hosts of heaven, seeing the army of Mara 
defeated, and the wiles of the daughters of Mara vain, 
assembled to honour the Conqueror, they came to the foot 
of the Tree of Wisdom and cried for joy : 

The Blessed Buddha — he hath prevailed I 
And the Tempter is overthrown ! 

The victory was achieved while the sun was yet above 
the horizon. The Bodhisatta sank into ever deeper and 
deeper thought. In the first watch of the night he reached 
the Knowledge of Former States of being, in the middle 
watch he obtained the heavenly eye of Omniscient Vision, 
and in the third watch he grasped the perfect under- 
standing of the Chain of Causation which is the Origin of 
Evil, and thus at break of day he attained to Perfect 
Enlightenment. Therewith there broke from his lips the 
song of triumph : 

Through many divers births I passed 
Seeking in vain the builder of the house? 

1 According to other books the temptation by the daughters of Mara 
is subsequent to the Supreme Enlightenment. In Plate A the Temp- 
tation by the Daughters of Mara takes place in the fifth week of the 
Forty-nine Days. 

2 The house is, of course, the house — or rather the prison — of indi- 
vidual existence : the builder of the house is desire {tanha) — the will to 
enjoy and possess. See p. 97. 

35 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

But O framer of houses, thou art found — 
Never again shalt thou fashion a house for me ! 
Broken ai'e all thy beams, 
The king-post shattered I 

My mind has passed into the stillness of Nibbana 
The ending of desire has bee7i attained at last I 
Innumerable wonders were manifest at this supreme hour. 
The earth quaked six times, and the whole universe was 
illuminated by the supernatural splendour of the sixfold 
rays that proceeded from the body of the seated Buddha. 
Resentment faded from the hearts of all men, all lack was 
supplied, the sick were healed, the chains of hell were 
loosed, and every creature of whatsoever sort found peace 
and rest. 

The Forty-nine Days 

Gautama, who was now Buddha, the Enlightened, remained 
seated and motionless for seven days, realizing the bliss of 
Nibbana; and thereafter rising, he remained standing for 
seven days more, steadfastly regarding the spot where 
had been won the fruit of countless deeds of heroic virtue 
performed in past births: then for seven days more he 
paced to and fro along a cloistered path from West to 
East, extending from the throne beneath the Wisdom Tree 
to the place of the Steadfast Gazing; and again for 
seven days he remained seated in a god-wrought pavilion 
near to the same place, and there reviewed in detail, book 
by book, all that is taught in the Abhidhamma Pitaka, as 
well as the whole doctrine of causality; then for seven 
days more he sat beneath the Nigrodha tree of Sujata's 
offering, meditating on the doctrine and the sweetness of 
Nibbana — and according to some books it was at this 
time the temptation by the daughters of Mara took place ; 

36 




Plate A 



THE FORTY-NINE DAYS 

From an illustrated manuscript, Sinhalese (18th century) 



The Forty-nine Days 

and then for seven days more while a terrible storm was 
raging, the snake king Mucalinda sheltered him with 
his sevenfold hood; and for seven days more he sat 
beneath a Rajayatana tree, still enjoying the sweetness of 
liberation. 

And so passed away seven weeks, during which the 
Buddha experienced no bodily wants, but fed on the joy 
of contemplation, the joy of the Eightfold Path, and the 
joy of its fruit, Nibbana. 

Only upon the last day of the seven weeks he desired to 
bathe and eat, and receiving water and a tooth-stick from 
the god Sakka, the Buddha bathed his face and seated 
himself at the foot of a tree. Now at that time two 
Brahman merchants were travelling with a caravan from 
Orissa to the middle country, and a Deva, who had been 
a blood relation of the merchants' in a former life, stopped 
the carts, and moved their hearts to make an offering of 
rice and honey cakes to the Lord. They went up to him 
accordingly, saying : " O Blessed One, have mercy upon 
us, and accept this food." Now the Buddha no longer 
possessed a bowl, and as the Buddhas never receive an 
offering in their hands, he reflected how he should take it. 
Immediately the Four Great Kings, the Regents of the 
Quarters appeared before him, each of them with a bowl ; 
and in order that none of them should be disappointed, 
the Buddha received the four bowls, and placing them one 
above the other made them to be one, showing only the 
four lines round the mouth, and in this bowl the Blessed 
One received the food, and ate it, and gave thanks. The 
two merchants took refuge in the Buddha, the Norm, and 
the Order, and became professed disciples. Then the 
Buddha rose up and returned again to the tree of Sujata's 
offering and there took his seat. And there, reflecting 

37 



Buddha Sf the Gospel of Buddhism 

upon the depth of truth which he had found, a doubt arose 
in his mind whether it would be possible to make it known 
to others : and this doubt is experienced by every Buddha 
when he becomes aware of the Truth. But Maha Brahma 
exclaiming : " Alas 1 the world will be altogether lost ! " 
came thither in haste, with all the Deva hosts, and besought 
the Master to proclaim the Truth; and he granted their 
prayer. 1 

The First Turning of the Wheel of the Law 
Then he considered to whom he should first reveal the Truth, 
and he remembered Alara, his former teacher, and Uddaka, 
thinking that these great sages would quickly comprehend 
it; but upon close reflection he discovered that each of 
them had recently died. Then he thought of the Five 
Wanderers who had been his disciples, and upon reflection 
he saw that they were then residing in the Deer Park at 
Isipatana in Benares, and he resolved to go there. When 
the Five Wanderers, whose chief was Kondanfia, perceived 
the Buddha afar off, they said together: "My friends, 
here comes Gautama the Bhikkhu. We owe him no 
reverence, since he has returned to a free use of the 
necessaries of life, and has recovered his strength, and 
beauty. However, as he is well-born, let us prepare him 
a seat." But the Blessed One perceived their thought, 

1 " Great truths do not take hold of the hearts of the masses. . . . And 
now, as all the world is in error, I, though I know the true path — how 
shall I, how shall I guide ? If I know that I cannot succeed and yet 
try to force success, this would be but another source of error. Better, 
then, to desist and strive no more. But if I strive not, who will ? " — 
Chuang Tzu. It is highly characteristic of the psychology of genius 
that when this doubt assails the Buddha he nevertheless immediately 
responds to a definite request for guidance ; the moment the pupil puts 
the right questions, the teacher's doubts are resolved. 

38 




Plate B 38 

THE FIRST SERMON, " TURNING THE WHEEL 

OF THE LAW," AT BENARES 

Gupta period (5th century a.d.), Sarnath, Benares 



The First Turning of the Wheel of the Law 

and concentrating that love wherewith he was able to 
pervade the whole world, he directed it specially towards 
them. And this love being diffused in their hearts, as he 
approached, they could not adhere to their resolve, but 
rose from their seats and bowed before him in all reverence. 
But not knowing that he had attained enlightenment, they 
addressed him as * Brother.' He, however, announced 
the Enlightenment, saying : " O Bhikkhus, do not address 
me as 'Brother,' for I have become a Buddha of clear 
vision even as those who came before." 
Now the Buddha took his seat that had been prepared 
for him by the Five Wanderers, and he taught them 
the first sermon, which is called Setting in Motion the 
Wheel of the Law, or the Foundation of the Kingdom of 
Righteousness. 

"There are two extremes which he who has gone forth 
ought not to follow — habitual devotion on the one hand 
to the passions, to the pleasures of sensual things, a low 
and pagan way (of seeking satisfaction), ignoble, un- 
profitable, fit only for the worldly-minded ; and habitual 
devotion, on the other hand, to self-mortification, which 
is painful, ignoble, unprofitable. There is a Middle Path 
discovered by the Tathagata x — a path which opens the 
eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace, to 
insight, to the higher wisdom, to Nirvana. Verily ! it is 
this Ariyan Eightfold Path ; that is to say Right Views, 
Right Aspirations, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right 
mode of livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and 
Right Rapture. 
"Now this is the Noble Truth as to suffering. Birth is 

1 That is by the Arahat ; the title the Buddha always uses of him- A 

self. He does not call himself the Buddha ; and his followers never 
address him as such. 

39 



Buddha @f the Gospel of Buddhism 

attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, 
death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, 
painful is separation from the pleasant ; and any craving 
unsatisfied, that, too, is painful. In brief, the five 
aggregates of clinging (that is, the conditions of indi- 
viduality) are painful. 

" Now this is the Noble Truth as to the origin of suffering. 
Verily ! it is the craving thirst that causes the renewal 
of becomings, that is accompanied by sensual delights, 
and seeks satisfaction, now here now there — that is to 
say, the craving for the gratification of the senses, or the 
craving for prosperity. 

" Now this is the Noble Truth as to the passing away 
of pain. Verily ! it is the passing away so that no passion 
remains, the giving up, the getting rid of, the emancipation 
from, the harbouring no longer of this craving thirst. 
" Now this is the Noble Truth as to the way that leads 
to the passing away of pain. Verily ! it is this Ariyan 
Eightfold Path, that is to say, Right Views, Right 
Aspirations, Right Speech, conduct, and mode of live- 
lihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right 
Rapture." x 

Now of the band of Bhikkhus to whom the first sermon 
was thus preached, Kondanna immediately attained to 
the fruit of the First Path, and the four others attained 
to the same station in the course of the next four days. 
On the fifth day the Buddha summoned all five to his 
side, and delivered to them the second discourse called 
" On the Non-existence of Soul," of which the substance 
is related as follows : 

"The body, O Bhikkhus, cannot be the eternal soul, for it 
tends toward destruction. Nor do sensation, perception, 

1 Rhys Davids, Early Buddhism, pp. 51, 52. 
40 




Plate C 

THE FIRST SERMON, " TURNING THE WHEEL OF 

THE LAW " 

Nepalese gilt copper, 8th-Qth century a.d. 

Author's Collection 



The First Turning of the Wheel of the Law 

the predispositions, and consciousness together constitute 
the eternal soul, for were it so, it would not be the case 
that the consciousness likewise tends towards destruction. 
Or how think you, whether is form permanent or transitory ? 
and whether are sensation, perception, and predispositions 
and consciousness permanent or transitory? 'They are 
transitory,' replied the Five. 'And that which is tran- 
sitory, is it evil or good?' ' It is evil,' replied the Five. 
' And that which is transitory, evil, and liable to change, 
can it be said that ' This is mine, this am I, this is my 
eternal soul?' ' Nay, verily, it cannot be so said, 5 replied 
the Five. 'Then, O Bhikkhus, it must be said of all 
physical form whatsoever, past or present or to be, sub- 
jective or objective, far or near, high or low, that "This 
is not mine, this am I not, this is not my eternal soul." ' 
And in like manner of all sensations, perceptions, predis- 
positions and consciousness, it must be said, 'These are 
not mine, these am I not, these are not my eternal soul.' 
And perceiving this, O Bhikkhus, the true disciple will 
conceive a disgust for physical form, and for sensation, 
perception, predispositions and consciousness, and so will 
be divested of desire ; and thereby he is freed, and 
becomes aware that he is freed; and he knows that 
becoming is exhausted, that he has lived the pure life, 
that he has done what it behoved him do, and that he 
has put off mortality for ever." 

And through this discourse the minds of the Five were 
perfectly enlightened, and each of them attained to 
Nibbana, so that at this time there existed five Arahats 
in the world, with the Buddha himself the sixth. The 
next day a young man of the name of Yasa, together with 
fifty-four companions likewise attained illumination, and 
thus there were sixty persons beside the Master himself, 

4* 



Buddha ®P the Gospel of Buddhism 

who had attained to Arahatta. These sixty the Master 
sent forth in diverse directions, with the command : " Go 
forth, O Bhikkhus, preaching and teaching. ,, But he 
himself proceeded to Uruvela, and upon the way he 
received into the Order thirty young noblemen, and these 
also he sent forth far and wide. At Uruvela the Master 
prevailed against three Brahmanical ascetics, fire-worship- 
pers, and received them into the Order with all their 
disciples, and established them in Arahatta. The chief 
of these was known as Uruvela Kassapa. And when they 
were seated on the Gaya Scarp, he preached the Third 
Sermon called the Discourse on Fire : 
"All things, O Bhikkhus are on fire. And what, O 
Bhikkhus, are all these things that are on fire ? The eye 
is on fire, forms are on fire, eye-consciousness is on fire, 
impressions received by the eye are on fire ; and whatever 
sensation — pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral — originates in 
the impressions received by the eye, is likewise on fire. 
"And with what are all these on fire? I say with the 
fire of lust of resentment, and the fire of glamour (rdga, 
dosa, and moka) ; with birth, old age, death, lamentation, 
misery, grief and despair they are afire. 
" And so with the ear, with the nose, and with the tongue, 
and in the case of touch. The mind too, is on fire, 
thoughts are on fire; and mind-consciousness, and the 
impressions received by the mind, and the sensations that 
arise from the impressions that the mind receives, these 
too are on fire. 

" And with what are they on fire ? I say with the fire of 
lust, with the fire of resentment, and the fire of glamour ; 
with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, 
and grief and despair, they are afire. 
" And seeing this, O Bhikkhus, the true disciple conceives 
42 




Plate D 

THE BUDDHA TEACHING 

Japanese lacquered wood image, 8th century. Kozan-ji Temple, Kyoto, 

From the Kokka 



42 



Conversion of Sariputta &? Mogallana 

disgust for the eye, for forms, for eye-consciousness, 
for impressions received by the eye, and for the sensations 
arising therein ; and for the ear, the nose, the tongue, and 
for the sense of touch, and for the mind, and for thoughts 
and mind-consciousness, impressions, and sensations. And 
so he is divested of desire, and thereby he is freed, 
and is aware that he is freed, and he knows that 
becoming is exhausted, that he has lived the pure life, 
that he has done what it behoved him to do, and that he 
has put off mortality for ever." * 

And in the course of the Sermon upon Fire, the minds 
of the thousand Bhikkhus assembled there were freed 
from attachment and delivered from the stains, and so 
attained to Arahatta and Nibbana. 

Conversion of Sariputta and Mogallana 
And now the Buddha, attended by the thousand Arahats 
of whom the chief was Uruvela Kassapa, repaired to the 
Palm Grove near by Rajagaha, to redeem the promise 
that was made to Bimbisara the king. When it was 
reported to the king: "The Master is come," he hastened 
to the grove, and fell at the Buddha's feet, and when he 
had thus offered homage he and all his retinue sat down. 
Now the king was not able to know whether the Buddha 
had become the disciple of Uruvela Kassapa, or Uruvela 
Kassapa of the Buddha, and to resolve the doubt Uruvela 
Kassapa bowed down to the Master's feet, saying : " The 
Blessed Lord is my master, and I am the disciple." All 
the people cried out at the great power of the Buddha, 
exclaiming : " Even Uruvela Kassapa has broken through 
the net of delusion and has yielded to the follower of the 

1 Mahdvagga, I. 2 1 (a summary of the version by Warren, Buddhism 
in Translations ) p. 351). 

43 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Buddhas of the past!" To show that this was not the 
first time that Kassapa the Great had yielded to him the 
Blessed One recited the Maha Narada Kassapa Jataka ; 
and he proclaimed the Four Noble Truths. The king of 
Magadha, with nearly all his retinue entered the First 
Path, and those who did not so, became lay disciples. 
The king gave a great endowment to the Order, with 
Buddha at their head, and confirmed it by the pouring 
out of water. And when the Master had thus received the 
Bambu-grove Monastery, he returned thanks, and rose 
from his seat, and repaired thither. Now at this time 
there dwelt two Brahmanical ascetics near to Rajagaha, 
by name Sariputta and Mogallana. Now Sariputta ob- 
served the venerable Arahat Assaji on his begging round, 
and remarked the dignity and grace of his demeanour; 
and when the Elder had obtained alms, and was departing 
from the city, Sariputta found occasion to speak with him, 
and enquired who was his teacher, and what the accepted 
doctrine. Assaji replied, "Brother, there is a great 
Sakya monk, to follow whom I left the world and this 
Blessed One is my teacher, and the doctrine I approve is 
his." Then Sariputta enquired : " What then, venerable 
sir, is your teacher's doctrine?" "Brother," replied 
Assaji, " I am a novice and a beginner, and it is not long 
that I have retired from the world to adopt the discipline 
and Doctrine. Therefore I may only set forth to you the 
doctrine in brief, and give the substance of it in a few 
words." Then the venerable Assaji repeated to Sariputta 
the Wanderer, the following verse : 

What things soever are produced from causes ', 
Of these the Buddha hath revealed the cause \ 
And likewise how they cease to be : 
9 Tis this the great adept proclaims* 
44 



Return of the Buddha to Kapilavatthu 

And hearing this exposition of the Doctrine, Sariputta the 
Wanderer attained to a clear and distinct perception of 
the Truth that whatever is subject to origination is subject 
also to cessation. 1 And thus Sariputta attained to the 
First Path. Then returning to Mogallana, he repeated to 
him the same verse, and he too attained to the First Path. 
And these two, leaving their former teacher, entered the 
order established by the Buddha, and within a short time 
both attained to Arahatta, and the Master made them his 
Chief Disciples. 

Return of the Buddha to Kapilavatthu 
In the meanwhile it was reported to Suddhodana that his 
son, who for six years had devoted himself to mortifica- 
tion, had attained to Perfect Enlightenment, had set 
rolling the Wheel of the Law, and was residing at the 
Bambu Grove near by Rajagaha. And he sent a mes- 
senger with a retinue of a thousand men with the message 
"Your father, king Suddhodana, desires to see you." 
They reached the monastery at the hour of instruction, 
and standing still to listen to the discourse, the messenger 
attained to Arahatta with all his retinue, and prayed 
to be admitted to the Order; and the Buddha received 
them. And being now indifferent to the things of the 
world, they did not deliver the king's message. In the 

1 The most essential element of Buddhist doctrine, the full realisation 
of which constitutes the enlightenment of a Buddha, is here stated in 
the fewest possible words. The clear enunciation of the law of uni- 
versal causation — the eternal continuity of becoming — is the great 
contribution of the Buddha to Indian thought ; for it is only with com- 
parative difficulty that the Vedanta is able to free itself from the 
concept of a First Cause. Assaji's verse is often called the Buddhist 
Confession of Faith ; it is quoted in Buddhist inscriptions more fre- 
quently than any other text. 

45 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

same way the king sent other messengers, each with a 
like retinue, and all of these, neglecting their business, 
stayed away there in silence. Then the king prevailed 
upon his minister Kaludayin to bear the message, and he 
consented to do so only upon condition of receiving per- 
mission to become a member of the Order himself. " My 
friend," the king said, "thou mayst become a hermit or 
not, as thou wilt, only bring it about that I may see my 
son before I die." 

Kaludayin repaired to Rajagaha, and standing beside the 
disciples at the hour of instruction, he attained to Arahatta, 
and was received into the Order. Now at this time eight 
months had passed since the Enlightenment, and of this 
time, the first Lent or Rainy Season was spent at the 
Deer Park in Benares, the next three months at Uruvela, 
and two months at Rajagaha. And now the cold season 
was over, the earth was decked with green grass, and the 
trees with scarlet flowers, and the roads were pleasant to 
to the traveller. And on the full-moon day in March, 
Kaludayin, a full week since his admission to the Order, 
spoke with the Buddha, and proposed to him that he 
should visit his father, who desired to see him. And the 
Master, foreseeing that salvation of many would result, 
assented, saying to Kaludayin: "Well said, Udayin, I 
shall go." For it was in accordance with the Rule that 
the Brethren should travel from place to place. Attended 
by twenty thousand well-born Arahats, and travelling 
each day a league, he reached Kapilavatthu in two 
months. But Kaludayin went instantly through the air, 
and informed the king that his son had taken the road, 
and by praising the virtues of the Buddha every day, he 
predisposed the Sakyas in his favour. 
The Sakyas considered what would be the most pleasant 

4 6 




Plate E 



STANDING IMAGE OF THE BUDDHA 

Gupta period (5th century a.d.), Mathura 



46 



Conversion of the Sakya Princes 

place for his residence, and they chose the Nigrodha- 
grove near by the city. With flowers in their hands, 
and accompanied by children of the place and the young 
men and maidens of the royal family, they went out to 
meet him, and led him to the grove. But regarding him 
as younger than themselves, as it were a younger brother, 
a nephew, or a grandson, they did not bow down. But 
the Buddha, understanding their thoughts, performed the 
miracle of taking his seat upon a jewelled platform in the 
air, and so preaching the law. And the king seeing this 
wonder said : " O Blessed One, when Kala Devala bowed 
down to your feet on the day of thy birth I did obeisance 
to thee for the first time. And when I saw that the 
shadow of the Jambu-tree remained motionless upon the 
occasion of the ploughing festival I did obeisance for the 
second time; and now, because of this great miracle, I 
bow again to thy feet." And there was not one of the 
Sakyas who did not bow to the Buddha's feet at the same 
time. Then the Blessed One descended from the air, and 
sat upon the throne that had been prepared for him, and 
there he delivered a discourse, to wit, the story of his 
former birth as Prince Vessantara. 

Conversion of the Sakya Princes 
The next day the master entered Kapilavatthu to beg his 
food, attended by the twenty thousand Arahats. When 
it was rumoured that the young prince Siddhattha was 
Egging from door to door, the windows of the many 
storied houses were opened wide, and a multitude gazed 
forth in amazement. And amongst these was the mother 
of Rahula, and she said to herself : " Is it right that my 
lord, who was wont to go to and from in this town in a 
gilded palanquin, with every sign of pomp, should now be 

47 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

begging his food from door to door, with shaven hair and 
beard, and clad in russet robes ? " And she reported the 
matter to the king. He, instantly rising, went forth to 
remonstrate with his son, that thus he put the Sakya clan 
to shame. " Do you think it impossible," said he, "that 
we should provide meals for all your followers?" "It 
is our custom, O king!" was the reply. "Not so, 
Master," said the king; "not one of all our ancestors has 
ever begged his food." " O king," replied the Buddha, 
" thy descent is in the succession of kings, but mine in 
the succession of the Buddhas : and every one of these 
has begged his daily food, and lived upon alms." 
And standing in the middle of the street he uttered the 
verse : 

Arise and delay not, follow after the pwe life I 
Who follows virtue rests in bliss, alike in this 
world and the next. 

And when the verse was finished the king attained to the 
Fruit of the First Path. Then the Buddha continued : 

Follow after the pure life, follow not after sin ! 
Who follows virtue rests in bliss alike in this 
world and the next. 

And the king attained to the Fruit of the Second Path. 
Then the Buddha recited the Dhammapala Jataka, and 
the king attained to the Fruit of the Third Path. It was 
when he was dying that the king attained to Arahatta: 
he never practised the Great Effort in solitude. 
Now as soon as the king had experienced the Fruit of 
Conversion, he took the Buddha's bowl and led the Blessed 
One and all his followers to the palace, and served them 
with savoury food. 
48 



Conversion of the Sakya Princes 

And when the meal was over, the women of the house 
came and paid homage to the Blessed One, except only 
the Mother of Rahula; but she stayed alone, for she 
thought, " If I have the least value in the eyes of my lord 
he will come himself to me, and then I will do him 
homage." And the Buddha went accordingly to the 
chamber of the Mother of Rahula, and he was accom- 
panied by the two chief Disciples, and he sat down on 
the seat prepared for him. Then the Mother of Rahula 
came quickly and put her hands upon his ankles and laid 
her head upon his feet, and so did homage as she had 
purposed. Then the king said to the Blessed One, 
"When my daughter heard that thou hadst put on the 
russet robes, from that day forth she also dressed only 
in russet garb ; and when she heard of thy one meal a 
day, she also took but a single meal; and when she 
heard that thou hadst forsaken the use of a high couch, 
she also slept upon a mat on the floor; and when her 
relatives would have received her and surrounded her 
with luxury, she did not hear them. Such is her good- 
ness, Blessed One." "'Tis no wonder," said the Blessed 
One, " that she exercises self-control now, when her wisdom 
is matured ; for she did no less when her wisdom was not yet 
matured." And he related the Canda-kinnara Jataka. 
On the second day the son of Suddhodana and the Lady 
GautamI was to celebrate at the same time his inaugura- 
tion as crown prince and his marriage with Janapada 
Kalyani, the Beauty of the Land. But the Buddha went 
to his house, and there gave him his bowl to carry ; and 
with a view to his abandoning the world, he wished him 
true happiness ; and then rising from his seat he went 
his way. And the young man, not venturing to say to 
the Master, "Take back thy bowl," perforce followed 

d 49 



!/ 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

him to the place of his retreat : and the Buddha received 
him all unwilling as he was, into the Order, and he was 
ordained. 

Upon the morrow the Mother of Rahula arrayed the child 
in all its best and sent him to the Blessed One, saying to 
him : " Look, my dear, at yonder Monk, attended by so 
many Brethren : he is your father, who was the possessor 
of a great treasure, which we have not seen since he left 
us. Go now and say, 'O Father, I am thy son, and I 
have need of the treasure — give me the treasure, for a 
son is heir to his father's property.' " And even so the 
child went up to the Blessed One and stood before him 
gladly and cheerfully. And when the Blessed One had 
finished his meal, he arose and went away, and the boy 
followed him, saying, as his mother had taught him, " O 
Monk ! give to me my inheritance." Then the Blessed 
One said to Sariputta, " Well, then, Sariputta, receive 
Rahula into our Order." 

But when the king learnt that his grandson had been 
ordained he was deeply grieved ; and he made known his 
grief to the Master, and won from him the promise that 
henceforth no son should be received into the Order 
without the leave of his father and mother. 
Now, after the King Suddhodana had attained the Fruit 
of the Third Path, the Blessed One, together with the 
company of Brethren, returned to Rajagaha, and took up 
his residence in the Sita Grove. 

But between Kapilavatthu and Rajagaha the Master halted 
for a short time at the Mango Grove of Anupiya. And 
while he was in that place a number of the Sakya 
princes determined to join his congregation, and to this 
end they followed him thither. The chief of these princes 
were Anuruddha, Bhaddiva, Kimbila, Ananda, the 

50 



IV 

YASODHARA AND RAHULA 

Nanda Lai. Bose 

Page 50 



Conversion of Anathapindika 

Buddha's cousin, who was afterwards appointed personal 
attendant, and Devadatta, the Buddha's cousin, who was 
ever his enemy. 

Conversion of Anathapindika 

Now in these days there was a very wealthy merchant, by 
name Anathapindika, and he was residing at the house of 
a friend at Rajagaha, and the news reached him that a 
Blessed Buddha had arisen. Very early in the morning 
he went to the Teacher, and heard the Law, and was con- 
verted; and he gave a great donation to the Order, and 
received a promise from the Master that he would visit 
Savatthi, the merchant's home. Then all along the road 
for the whole distance of forty-five leagues he built a 
resting-place at every league. And he bought the great 
Jetavana Grove at Savatthi for the price of as many pieces 
of gold as would cover the whole ground. In the midst 
thereof he built a pleasant chamber for the Master, and 
separate cells for the eighty Elders round about it, and 
many other residences with long halls and open roofs, and 
terraces to walk by night and day, and reservoirs of water. 
Then did he send a message to the Master that all was 
prepared. And the Master departed from Rajagaha, and 
in due course reached Savatthi. And the wealthy merchant, 
together with his wife and his son and two daughters 
in festal attire, and accompanied by a mighty train of 
followers, went out to meet him; while the Blessed One 
on his part entered the new-built monastery with all the 
infinite grace and peerless majesty of a Buddha, making 
the grove to shine with the glory of his person, as though 
it had been sprinkled with dust of gold. 
Then Anathapindika said to the Master: "What should 
I do with this monastery?" and the Master answered: 

5i 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

"Bestow it upon the Order, whether now present or to 
come." And the great Merchant, pouring water from a 
golden vessel into the Master's hands, confirmed the gift 
in these terms. And the Master received it and gave 
thanks and praised the uses of monasteries and the gift 
of them. The dedication festival lasted nine months. 
In those days there also resided at Savatthi, the chief town 
of Kosala, the lady Visakha, the wife of the wealthy 
merchant Punnavaddhana. She made herself the patroness 
and supporter of the Order, and was also the means of con- 
verting her father-in-law, who was previously an adherent 
of the naked Jainas ; and for this reason she got the sur- 
name of the mother of Migara. Beyond this was her 
dedication to the Order of the monastery of Pubbarama, 
the value and splendour whereof were second only to those 
of the monastery erected by Anathapindika himself. 

The Buddha averts a War 

Now three rainy seasons were spent by the Lord in the 
Bambu Grove. It was in the fifth season, when he was 
residing in the Kutagara Hall of the Great Forest near to 
Vesali that there arose a dispute between the Sakyas and 
the Koliyas regarding the water of the river Rohini, which, 
because of a great drought, did not suffice that year to 
irrigate the fields on both banks. The quarrel rose high, and 
matters were come nearly to battle, when the Buddha pro- 
ceeded to the place, and took his seat on the river bank. He 
enquired for what reason the princes of the Sakyas and 
Koliyas were assembled, and when he was informed that 
they were met together for battle, he enquired what was 
the point in dispute. The princes said that they did not 
know of a surety, and they made enquiry of the commander- 
in-chief, but he in turn knew not, and sought information 
52 




Plate F 



ROCK-CUT IMAGE OF THE BUDDHA 

Chinese, Long-men (6th century, a.d.). After Chavannes, Mission 
archcsologique dans la Chine septentrionale 



The Admission of Women 

from the regent ; and so the enquiry went on until it reached 
the husbandmen, who related the whole affair. "What 
then is the value of water?" said the Buddha. "It is 
but little," said the princes. "And what of earth?" 
" That also is little," they said. " And what of princes ? " 
" It cannot be measured," they said. " Then would you," 
said the Buddha, "destroy that which is of the highest 
value for the sake of that which is little worth ? " and he 
appeased the wrath of the combatants by the recital of 
sundry Jatakas. The princes now reflected that by the 
interposition of Buddha much bloodshed had been avoided, 
and that had it not been so, none might have been left to 
report the matter to their wives and children. And since, 
had he become, as he might if he had so pleased, a uni- 
versal monarch, they would have been his vassals, they 
chose two hundred and fifty of their number, from each 
party, to become his attendants, and join the Order. But 
these fivG hundred were ordained at the wish of their 
parents, and not by their own will, and their wives were 
filled with grief for their sake. 

The Admission of Women 

About this time Suddhodana fell ill with a mortal sick- 
ness, and as soon as this was reported to the Blessed 
One, he proceeded to Kapilavatthu and visited his father. 
And when he had come before him, he preached to him 
the instability of all things, so that Suddhodana attained 
to the Fruit of the Fourth Path ; to Arahatta, and Nibbana, 
and thereafter he died. 

After the death of her husband the widowed queen, the 
Matron GautamI, decided to adopt the life of the hermitage, 
cut off her hair, and proceeded to the place where the 
Buddha was residing. She was accompanied by the wives 

53 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

of the five hundred princes who had been ordained on the 
occasion of the imminent battle at the Rohini river; for 
these considered that it was better for them to retire from 
the world, than to remain at home in widowhood. The 
Matron Gautami said to the Buddha that as Suddhodana 
was now dead, and Rahula and Nanda were both ordained 
Brethren, she had no wish to reside alone, and she asked 
that she might be admitted to the Order, together with 
the princesses who were with her. But this request the 
Buddha refused, a first, a second, and third time, for he 
reflected that if they were admitted, it would perplex the 
minds of many who had not yet entered the Paths, and 
would be the occasion of evil speaking against the Order. 
And when they were still refused, the women feared to 
ask a fourth time, and they returned to their homes. 
And the Buddha returned to the Kutagara hall, near 
Vesali. 

Then the Matron Gautami said to the other princesses : 
My children, the Buddha has thrice refused us admission 
to the Order, but now let us take it upon ourselves to go 
to him where he now is, and he will not be able to deny 
us." They all cut their hair, adopted the garb of 
religieuses, and taking earthen alms-bowls, set out for 
Vesali on foot; for they considered that it was contrary 
to the discipline for a recluse to travel by car. Then 
they who in all their life had walked only on smooth 
pavements, and regarded it as a great matter to ascend 
or descend from one story of their palaces to another, 
trod the dusty roads, and it was not until evening that 
they reached the place where the Buddha was. They 
were received by Ananda. And when he saw them, their 
feet bleeding and covered with dust, as if half dead, his 
breast was filled with pity and his eyes with tears, and he 
54 



The Admission of Women 

enquired the meaning of their journey. When this was 
made known he informed the Master, describing all that 
he had seen. But the Buddha merely said: "Enough, 
Ananda, do not ask me that women retire from the house- 
hold life to the homeless life, under the Doctrine and 
Discipline of Him-who-has-thus-attained." And he said 
this three times. But Ananda besought the Blessed One 
in another way to receive the women into the homeless 
life. He asked the Blessed One : " Are women competent, 
Reverend Sire, if they retire from the household to the 
homeless life, to attain to the Fruits of the First, the 
Second, the Third, and the Fourth Paths, even to 
Arahatta ? " The Buddha could not deny the competence 
of women. " Are Buddhas," he asked, " born into the 
world only for the benefit of men ? Assuredly it is for 
the benefit of women also." And the Blessed One 
consented that women should make profession and enter 
the Order, subject to the conditions of the Eight Duties 
of Subordination to the Brethren. " But," he added, " if 
women were not admitted to the Order, then would the 
Good Law endure for a thousand years, but now it will 
stand for five hundred years only. For just as when 
mildew falls upon a field of flourishing rice, that field of 
rice does not long endure, just so when women retire 
from the household to the homeless life under a Doctrine 
and Discipline, the norm will not long endure. And 
just as a large reservoir is strengthened by a strong dyke, 
so have I established a barrier of eight weighty regu- 
lations, not to be transgressed as long as life shall last." 
And in this way the Matron GautamI and the five hundred 
princesses were admitted to the order; and it was not 
long before GautamI attained to Arahatta, and the five 
hundred princesses attained the Fruit of the First Path. 

55 



Buddha @P the Gospel of Buddhism 

And this took place in the sixth year of the Enlighten- 
ment. 

The Sixth to the Fourteenth Years 
The sixth rainy season was spent at Savatthi, and there- 
after the Blessed One repaired to Rajagaha. Now the 
name of king Bimbisara's wife was Khema, 1 and such was 
her pride in her beauty that she had never deigned to 
visit the Master: but on a certain occasion the king 
brought about a meeting by means of a stratagem. Then 
the Buddha performed a miracle for her; he produced 
a likeness of one of the beautiful nymphs of Indra's 
heaven, and while she beheld it, he made it pass through 
all the stages of youth, middle age, old age, and death. 
And by this terrible sight the Queen was disposed to hear 
the Master's teaching, and she entered the First Path, 
and afterwards attained to Arahatta. 
During the Master's residence in Rajagaha a wealthy 
merchant of that place became possessed of a piece of 
sandal wood, and he had a bowl made of it. This bowl 
he fastened to the tip of a tall bamboo, and raising it 
up in this way, he announced : "If any Wanderer or 
Brahman be possessed of miraculous powers, let him take 
down the bowl." Then Mogallana and other of the 
Brethren egged each other to take it down, and that other 
by name Pindola-Bharadvaja, rose up into the sky and 
took the bowl, and moved three times round the city ere 
he descended, to the astonishment of all the citizens. 
When this was reported to the Buddha, he remarked: 
"This will not conduce to the conversion of the uncon- 
verted, nor to the advantage of the converted." And 

1 For other mention of the BhikkunI Khema, see p. 223. 

56 



The Sixth to the Fourteenth Years 

he prohibited the Brethren from making an exhibition 
of miraculous powers. 

The Buddha met with opposition to his teaching, par- 
ticularly from six heretical teachers, each of whom had a 
large train of adherents. Of these heretical teachers 
one was Sanjaya, the former master of Sariputta and 
Mogallana, and another was Nigantha Nataputta, who is 
better known as Vardhamana, the founder of the sect of 
the Jainas, whose history in many respects recalls that of 
Buddhism, while, unlike Buddhism, it still numbers many 
adherents in India proper. These various teachers failed 
to find any support in the realm of Bimbisara, and there- 
fore betook themselves to Savatthi, hoping to secure 
greater influence with King Prasenajit. Now Savatthi 
was the place were all former Buddhas have exhibited 
their greatest miracle, and remembering this the Buddha 
proceeded thither with the intention of confounding his 
opponents. He took up his residence in the Jetavana 
monastery. Very soon afterwards he exhibited to the 
people, the six teachers, and King Prasenajit, a series of 
great miracles, creating a great road across the sky from 
East to West, and walking thereon the while he preached 
the Good Law. By these means the heretical teachers 
were overcome. 

Following upon the Great Miracle, the Buddha departed 
to the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and there preached the 
Law to his mother, Maha Maya. The Buddha remained 
in the Heaven of the Thirty-three for three months, and 
during that time he created a likeness of himself, that 
continued the teaching of the Law on earth, and went every 
day upon his rounds begging food. When the Buddha 
was about to descend from heaven, Sakka commanded 
Vissakamma, the divine architect, to create a triple 

57 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

ladder, the foot of which was set down near the town of 
Sankissa. And the Buddha descended at this place, 
attended by Brahma on the right and Sakka on the left. 
From Sankissa the Master returned to the Jetavana 
monastery near Savatthi. Here the heretical teachers 
induced a young woman of the name of Cinca so to 
act as to arouse the suspicion of the people regarding 
her relation to the Master. After many visits to the 
monastery, she contrived a means to assume the appear- 
ance of a woman far gone in pregnancy, and in the ninth 
month she brought an open accusation, and required that 
the Master should provide a place for her confinement. 
The Buddha answered with a great voice, " Sister, whether 
thy words be true or false, none knoweth save thou and I." 
At that very moment the strings gave way, wherewith the 
woman had bound upon herself the wooden globe by 
means of which she had assumed the appearance of 
pregnancy. Pursued by the indignant people, she dis- 
appeared in the midst of flames rising from the earth, and 
descended to the bottom of the lowest Purgatory. 
The ninth retreat was spent in the Ghositarama at 
Kausambi. Here there arose violent disagreements 
among the Brethren on matters of discipline, and the 
Buddha's wisdom and kindness availed not to restore 
peace. He therefore left the Brethren and proceeded to 
the village of Balajalonakara with the intention of residing 
alone as a hermit. He met on the way Anuruddha, 
Nandiya and Kimbila, who were living in perfect unity 
and content, and he rejoiced their hearts by a religious 
discourse. Then proceeding to the Rakkhita Grove at 
Parileyyaka, he dwelt alone. 

After residing for some time at Parileyyaka, the Lord 
proceeded to Savatthi. Now the contumacious Brethren 

58 



The Sixth to the Fourteenth Years 

of Kausambi had received such signal marks of disrespect 
from the laity of that city that they resolved to proceed to 
Savatthi and lay the matter in dispute before the Master, 
and they abode by his decision, and peace was restored. 
During the eleventh retreat the Master resided at 
Rajagaha. There he saw one day a Brahman, by name 
Bharadvaja, superintending the cultivation of his fields. 
The Brahman, seeing the Buddha subsisting upon the 
alms of others, said : " O Wanderer, I plough and sow, 
and so find my livelihood. Do thou also plough and sow 
to the same end?" But the Buddha replied: "I, too, 
plough and sow, and it is thus that I find my food." 
The Brahman was surprised, and said : " I do not see, O 
reverend Gautama, that you have a yoke, ploughshare, 
goad, or bullocks. How, then, say that thou too 
labourest?" Then the Lord said: "Faith is the seed I 
sow; devotion is the rain; modesty is the ploughshaft; 
the mind is the tie of the yoke ; mindfulness is my plough- 
share and goad. Energy is my team and bullock, leading 
to safety, and proceeding without backsliding to the place 
where there is no sorrow." And Bharadvaja was so 
much affected by this parable that he was converted and 
made confession and was admitted to the Order. 
In the thirteenth year, during his stay at Kapilavatthu, 
the Buddha was subjected to violent insults on the part of 
his father-in-law, Suprabuddha, and he uttered the pre- 
diction that within a week Suprabuddha would be swallowed 
alive by the earth. And, notwithstanding Suprabuddha 
spent the whole week in the tower of his palace, the earth 
opened and he was swallowed up in accordance with 
the prophecy, and he sank into the lowest Purgatory. 
The Lord returned from Kapilavatthu to the Jetavana 
monastery at Savatthi and thence proceeded to Alavi, a 

59 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

place that was haunted by a man-eating ogre who was accus- 
tomed to devour the children of the place day after day. 
When the Buddha appeared before him, he was received 
with threats, but the Master, by gentleness and patience, 
succeeded in softening his heart, and was able also to 
answer the questions propounded by the ogre, who became 
a believer and mended his life. The fierce robber Angu- 
limala, too, he won over to the Good Law, and notwith- 
standing his evil life he quickly attained to Arahatta. 
About this time the pious Anathapindika gave his 
daughter in marriage to the son of a friend residing in 
Anga, and as the Anga family were supporters of the 
heretical teacher Nigantha, he gave his daughter a train 
of maidservants to support her in the right faith. The 
young wife refused to do honour to the naked Jaina 
ascetics, and she awakened an eager desire in the heart 
of her mother-in-law to hear the preaching of the Master : 
and when he arrived the whole family together with many 
others were converted. Leaving the completion of the 
work of conversion to Anuruddha, the Buddha returned to 
Savatthi. 

The Buddha's Daily Life 

In this way there passed by year after year of the Buddha's 

wandering ministry, but the events of the middle years 

cannot be chronologically arranged with exactitude; it 

will suffice if we give a general description of the Master's 

daily life at this time. 1 

" From year to year the change from a period of wandering 

to a period of rest and retirement repeated itself for Buddha 

and his disciples. In the month of June when, after the 

1 What follows is quoted from the admirable summary of Oldenberg. — 

Buddha^ English translation by W. Hoey. 

60 



The Buddha's Daily Life 

dry, scorching heat of the Indian summer, clouds come 
up in towering masses, and the rolling thunders herald 
the approach of the rain-bearing monsoon, the Indian 
to-day, as in ages past, prepares himself and his home for 
the time during which all usual operations are interrupted 
by the rain: for whole weeks long in many places the 
pouring torrents confine the inhabitants to their huts, 
or at any rate, to their villages, while communication 
with neighbours is cut off by rapid, swollen streams, and 
by inundations. 'The birds,' says an ancient Buddhist 
work, ' build their nests on the tops of trees : and there 
they nestle and hide during the damp season/ And thus 
also, it was an established practice with the members 
of monastic orders, undoubtedly not first in Buddha's 
time, but since ever there was a system of religious 
itinerancy in India, to suspend itinerant operations during 
the three rainy months and to spend this time in quiet 
retirement in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, 
where sure support was to be found through the charity 
of believers. . . . Buddha also every year for three months 
4 kept vassa, rainy season,' surrounded by groups of his 
disciples, who flocked together to pass the rainy season 
near their teacher. Kings and wealthy men contended 
for the honour of entertaining him and his disciples, who 
were with him, as guests during this season in the hospices 
and gardens which they had provided for the community. 
The rains being over, the itinerating began: Buddha 
went from town to town and village to village, always 
attended by a great concourse of disciples : the texts are 
wont to speak in one place of three hundred, and in 
another of five hundred, who followed their master. In 
the main streets, through which the religious pilgrims, 
like travelling merchants, used to pass, the believers who 

61 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

dwelt near had taken care to provide shelter, to which 
Buddha and his disciples might resort: or, where monks 
who professed the doctrine dwelt, there was sure to be 
found lodging for the night in their abodes, and even if 
no other cover was to be had, there was no want of mango 
or banyan trees, at the feet of which the band might halt 
for the night. . . . 

"The most important headquarters during these wan- 
derings, at the same time the approximately extreme points, 
to the north-west and south-east of the area, in which 
Buddha's pilgrim life was passed, are the capital cities of the 
kings of Kosala and Magadha, Savatthi, now Sahet Maheth 
on the Rapti, and Rajagaha, now Rajgir, south of Bihar. 
In the immediate neighbourhood of these towns the com- 
munity possessed numerous pleasant gardens, in which 
structures of various kinds were erected for the require- 
ments of the members. ' Not too far from, nor yet too 
near the town,' thus runs the standard description of such 
a park given in the sacred texts, 'well provided with 
entrances and exits, easily accessible to all people who 
enquire after it, with not too much of the bustle of life by 
day, quiet by night, far from commotion and the crowds 
of men, a place of retirement, a good place for solitary 
meditation.' Such a garden was the Veluvana, ' Bambu 
Grove,' once a pleasure-ground of King Bimbisara, and 
presented by him to Buddha and the Church : another was 
the still more renouned Jetavana at Savatthi, a gift made 
by Buddha's most liberal admirer, the great merchant 
Anathapindika. Not alone the sacred texts, but equally 
also the monumental records, the reliefs of the great Stupa 
of Bharhut, recently explored, show how highly celebrated 
this gift of Anathapindika's was from the earliest days in 
the Buddhist Church. . . . If it is possible to speak of a 
62 



The Buddha's Daily Life 

home in the homeless wandering life of Buddha and his 
disciples, places like the Veluvana and Jetavana may of 
all others be so called, near the great centres of Indian 
life and yet untouched by the turmoil of the capitals, once 
the quiet resting-places of rulers and nobles, before the 
yellow-robed mendicants appeared on the scene, and ' the 
Church in the four quarters, present and absent,' succeeded 
to the possession of the kingly inheritance. In these 
gardens were the residences of the brethren, houses, halls, 
cloisters, storerooms, surrounded by lotus-pools, fragrant 
mango trees, and slender fan-palms that lift their foliage 
high over all else, and by the deep green foliage of the 
Nyagrodha tree, whose roots dropping from the air to earth 
become new stems, and with their cool shady arcades and 
leafy walks seem to invite to peaceful meditation. 
"These were the surroundings in which Buddha passed a 
great part of his life, probably the portions of it richest in 
effective work. Here masses of the population, lay as 
well as monastic, flocked together to see him, and to hear 
him preach. Hither came pilgrim monks from far 
countries, who had heard the fame of Buddha's teaching, 
and, when the rainy season was past, undertook a pilgrim- 
age to see the Master face to face. . . . 
" The fame of Buddha's person also drew together from 
far and near crowds of such as stood without the narrower 
circles of the community. 'To the ascetic Gotama,' 
people remarked to one another, * folks are coming, passing 
through kingdoms and countries, to converse with him.' 
Often, when he happened to halt near the residences of 
potentates, kings, princes, and dignitaries came on wagons 
or on elephants to put questions to him or to hear his 
doctrine. Such a scene is described to us in the opening 
of the * Sutra on the fruit of asceticism,' and reappears in 

63 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

pictorial representation among the reliefs at Bharhut. 
The Sutra relates how King Ajatasattu of Magadha in 
the 'Lotus-night' — that is, in the full moon of October, 
the time when the lotus blooms — is sitting in the open air, 
surrounded by his nobles on the flat roof of his palace. 
* Then,' as it is recorded in that text, the king of Magadha, 
Ajatasattu, the son of the Vaidehi princes, uttered this 
exclamation, 'Fair in sooth is this moonlight night, 
lovely in sooth is this moonlight night, grand in sooth 
is this moonlight night, happy omens in sooth giveth 
this moonlight night. What Samana * or what Brahman 
shall I go to hear, that my soul may be cheered when 
I hear him?' " One counseller names this and another 
that teacher : but Jivaka, the king's physician, sits on in 
silence. Then the king of Magadha, Ajatasattu, the 
sun of Vedehi, spake to Jivaka Komarabhacca : " Why 
art thou silent, friend Jivaka?" — "Sire, in my mango 
grove he resteth, the exalted, holy, supreme Buddha, 
with a great band of disciples, with three hundred monks ; 
of him, the exalted Gotama, there spreadeth through the 
world lordly praise in these terms : He, the exalted one, is 
the holy, supreme Buddha, the wise, the learned, the 
blessed, who knoweth the universe, the highest, who 
tameth man like an ox, the teacher of gods and men, the 
exalted Buddha. Sire, go to hear him, the exalted one : 
perchance, if thou seest him, the exalted one, thy soul, 

sire, may be refreshed " — and the king orders elephants 
to be prepared for himself and the queens, and the royal 
procession moves with burning torches on that moonlight 
night through the gate of Rajagaha to Jlvaka's mango 
grove, where Buddha is said to have held with the king 
the famous discourse, 'On the fruits of asceticism,' at 

1 A begging friar, Bhikkhu. 

6 4 



The Buddha's Daily Life 

the end of which the king joined the Church as a lay- 
member. . . . 

" A frequent end of these dialogues is, of course, that 
the vanquished opponents or the partisans of Buddha 
invite him and his disciples to dine on the following day. 




The Buddha Teaching in the House of a Layman 
(Ajanta Frescoes, after Griffiths) 

* Sir, may it please the Exalted One and his disciples to 
dine with me to-morrow.' And Buddha permits his con- 
sent to be inferred from his silence. On the following 
day, about noon, when dinner is ready, the host sends 
word to Buddha : * Sire, it is time, the dinner is ready ' ; 
and Buddha takes his cloak and alms-bowl and goes 

e 65 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

with his disciples into the town or village to the residence 
of his host. After dinner ... at which the host himself 
and his family serve the guests, when the customary 
hand-washing is over, the host takes his place with his 
family at Buddha's side, and Buddha addresses to them a 
word of spiritual admonition and instruction. 
" If the day be not filled by an invitation, Buddha, accord- 
ing to monastic usages, undertakes his circuit of the 
village or town in quest of alms. He, as well as his 
disciples, rises early, when the light of dawn appears in 
the sky, and spends the early moments in spiritual exer- 
cises or in converse with his disciples, and then he 
proceeds with his companions towards the town. In the 
days when his reputation stood at its highest point and 
his name was named throughout India among the fore- 
most names, one might day by day see that man before 
whom kings bowed themselves, walking about, alms-bowl 
in hand, through streets and alleys, from house to house, 
and without uttering any request, with downcast look, 
stand silently waiting until a morsel of food was thrown 
into his bowl. 

" When he had returned from his begging excursion and 
had eaten his repast, there followed, as the Indian climate 
demanded, a time, if not of sleep, at any rate of peaceful 
retirement. Resting in a quiet chamber or, better still, 
in the cool shades of dense foliage, he passed the sultry 
close hours of the afternoon in solitary contemplation 
until the evening came on and drew him once more from 
holy silence to the bustling concourse of friend and foe." 

The Appointment of Ananda 

During the first twenty years of the Buddha's life, his 

personal attendants were not such permanently. The 

66 




Plate G 66- 

STANDING IMAGE OF THE BUDDHA ATTENDED BY 
ANANDA AND KASSAPA AND TWO BODHISATTAS 

Chinese stele, Wei dynasty, 6th century a.d. 
Co lection of Mr Victor Golonbew 



The Appointment of Ananda 

Brethren took it by turns to carry the Master's bowl and 
cloak, and he did not favour one more than another. But 
one day he addressed the Brethren and said : " O Bhikkhus, 
I am now advanced in years : x and some Bhikkhus, when 
they have been told * Let us go this way,' take another 
way, and some drop my bowl and cloak on the ground. 
Do ye know of a Bhikkhu to be my permanent body- 
servant ? " Then the venerable Sariputta arose and said : 
" I Lord, will wait upon thee." Him the Exalted One 
rejected, and Mogallana the Great, also. Then all of the 
foremost disciples said: "We will wait upon thee." 
Only Ananda remained silent : for he thought " The Master 
himself will say of whom he approves." Then the Exalted 
One said : " O Bhikkhus, Ananda is not to be urged by 
others : if he knows it of himself, he will wait upon me." 
Then Ananda stood up and said : " If, Lord, thou wilt 
refuse me four things, and grant me four things, then I 
will wait on thee." Now the four things that Ananda 
wished to be denied were special favours, for he did not 
wish it to be said that his service was undertaken for the 
sake of clothes, or good fare, or lodging, or that he might 
be included in invitations. And the four boons that he 
desired were that the Buddha would accept any invitation 
received through Ananda, that he would be easy of access 
to such as Ananda should bring to speak with him and to 
Ananda himself, and that he would repeat to Ananda such 
doctrines as he desired to hear again : for Ananda did 
not wish it to be thought that the Buddha made no account 
of him, nor that men should say that the Buddha's im- 
mediate attendant was not well versed in the doctrine. All 
these boons were granted by the Blesssed One, and thence- 
forward until the day of his death, Ananda remained the 
1 The Buddha was at this time fifty-six years of age. 

6 7 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

permanent attendant of the Buddha. 1 It was not, however, 
until after the Buddha's death that Ananda attained to 
Arahatta. 

The Enmity of Devadatta 

In the picture of Buddha's daily life described a few 
pages previously, mention is made of Ajatasattu, King of 
Magadha. This Ajatasattu was the son of Bimbisara, the 
chief of the Buddha's royal supporters. When Ajatasattu 
was conceived, it was indicated by an omen and a prophecy 
that he would be the slayer of his father. And this came 
to pass at the instigation of Devadatta. One day when 
the Buddha was teaching in the Bambu Grove, Devadatta 
proposed that because of the Master's advanced age, 
the leadership of the Congregation should be vested in 
himself. From the time when this suggestion was plainly 
refused, Devadatta's enmity and ill-will greatly increased. 
Because of what had taken place the Buddha issued a 
decree against Devadatta as a renegade whose words 
were not to be recognized as proceeding from the Buddha, 
the Law, or the Community. The angry Devadatta now 
betook himself to Ajatasattu, King Bimbisara's son and 
heir, and persuaded him to murder his father and usurp 
the throne, while Devadatta should kill the Master and 
become Buddha. Bimbisara however discovered his 
son's intention, and so far from punishing him in any way, 
abdicated the throne and gave over the kingdom to his 
son. Nevertheless, upon Devadatta's representing that 
Bimbisara might desire to recover the throne, Ajatasattu 
brought about his death by starvation. 

1 Personal service on the Buddha implied to bring his water and tooth- 
brush, wash his feet, accompany him abroad, bear his bowl and cloak, 
sweep his cell, and act as chamberlain. 
68 



y 




THE QUELLING OF MALAGIRI 
Amaravati, 2nd century a.d. 



68 



The Enmity of Devadatta 

Then Devadatta secured the new king's consent to the 
murder of the Buddha, and he hired thirty-one men 
to carry out his purpose. All these men, however, not- 
withstanding they were notorious criminals, were so 
affected by the majesty and loving kindness of the Master, 
that they could not raise hand against him, but on the con- 
trary, experienced conversion, and joined the Community. 
Devadatta was now convinced that the Buddha could not 
be slain by any human being, and determined to let loose 
upon him the fierce elephant Malagiri. This beast was 
accustomed to drink eight measures of spirituous liquor 
every day, but Devadatta commanded the keeper to give it 
sixteen measures the next day, and to let it loose against 
the Buddha as he proceeded through the streets. The 
Buddha was informed of what was to be done, but he 
refused to change his usual procedure, and he entered the 
city at the usual hour, accompanied by a company of 
Bhikkhus. Soon afterwards the elephant was let loose 
upon him, and at once it raged through the streets, 
working havoc. The Bhikkhus entreated the Master 
to escape, but as he would not, they sought to walk before 
him, in order that he might not be the first to meet the 
savage beast, but this the Buddha forbade, albeit in 
the case of Ananda, his doing so was only prevented 
by the exercise of miraculous power. At this moment 
the elephant was about to destroy the mother of a 
child who had run into the street in ignorance of the 
danger : but the Buddha called to it : " It was not intended 
that you should destroy any other being than myself: 
here am I : waste not your strength on any less noble 
object." On hearing the voice of Buddha, the elephant 
looked towards him; and immediately the effects of the 
liquor passed away, and the elephant approached him in 

6 9 






Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

the gentlest fashion and kneeled before him. The Master 
charged him to take no life in future, but to be kind 
to all people: and the elephant repeated the five pre- 
cepts before the assembled crowds. Thus the rage of 
Malagiri was subdued, and had he not been a quadruped, 
he might have entered the First Path. 1 As Buddha had 
thus performed a miracle, he reflected that it would not 
be becoming to seek alms in the same place, and he 
therefore returned to the Jetavana monastery, without 
proceeding on his usual course. 

Following upon this, Devadatta attempted to create a 
schism in the Order. Together with certain other Bhikkhus 
he requested the Buddha to establish a more severely 
ascetic rule for the Brethren, as that they should clothe 
themselves only in cast-off rags, that they should dwell as 
forest-hermits, accept no invitations, and abstain from fish 
and meat. The Master refused to concede these demands, 
declaring that those who wished might adopt this more 
severe rule, but that he would not make it binding upon all. 
Devadatta, who expected this refusal, made it the occasion 
of division within the Order. Together with a party of 
five hundred recently ordained Brethren, he made his way 
to Gaya Scarp. But as he was preaching there, he happened 
to see Sariputta and Mogallana in the audience, and 
thinking them to be of his party, he requested Sariputta 
to preach, while he himself slept. Sariputta and Mogallana 
now addressed the assembly and persuaded the five hundred 
schismatics to return to the Master. When Devadatta 
awoke and learnt what had taken place, the hot blood 
broke from his mouth in anger. Devadatta lay sick for 
nine months : and at the end of this time he determined 

1 Animals may keep the precepts, gods may enter the Paths, but 
only human beings can attain to Arahatta and Nibbana. 

70 



Destruction of the Sakyas 

to seek the Buddha's forgiveness, for he knew that the 
Master felt no ill-will toward him. His disciples en- 
deavoured to dissuade him, knowing that the Buddha 
would not see him: but he had himself conveyed in a 
palanquin to the Jetavana monastery. The Bhikkhus 
informed Buddha of his approach, but the Master answered : 
" He will not see the Buddha : for his crimes are so great 
that ten, or a hundred, or even a thousand Buddhas could 
not help him." When they reached the monastery, the 
disciples of Devadatta laid down the palanquin : and then, 
despite his weakness, Devadatta rose and stood. But no 
sooner did his feet touch the ground, than flames arose 
from the lowest hell, and wrapped him in their folds, at 
first his feet, then his middle, and then his shoulders. 
Then in terror he cried aloud : "Save me, my children, I 
am the cousin of the Buddha. O Buddha, though I have 
done so much against thee, for the sake of our kinship 
save me!" And he repeated the formula of taking refuge 
in the Buddha, the norm, and the order. By this he 
received the help of the Three Gems at last, and in a 
future birth he will become the Private Buddha Sattisara, 
notwithstanding he now went to hell and received a 
body of fire. 

Now King Ajatasattu, who had murdered his father, felt 
the pangs of conscience. He found no comfort in the 
doctrines of the six heretical teachers who were the Lord's 
opponents. And then, on the advice of his physician Jivaka 
— as related previously — he sought the Buddha himself, and 
heard his teaching and became a convert to the true faith. 

Destruction of the Sakyas 

Not long after this, in the seventh year of Ajatasattu' s 

reign, the son of the king of Kosala dethroned his father 

7i 






Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

and, to revenge himself for a slight received, he marched 
on Kapilavatthu. Almost the whole of the Sakya clan 
was destroyed in the ensuing war, while the party of the 
Kosalas perished in a great flood. 

When the Lord had reached his seventy-ninth year — 
being the forty-fifth year following the Enlightenment — 
Ajatasattu undertook an unsuccessful war upon the 
Vajjians of Vesali. The Buddha was consulted upon the 
likelihood of victory, and in this connection we are in- 
formed what is the Master's view of polity, for he 
declares that he himself has taught the Vajjians the 
conditions of true welfare, and as he is informed that the 
Vajjians are continuing to observe these institutions, he 
foretells that they will not suffer defeat. And these con- 
ditions are stated in the following terms : " So long, 
Ananda, as the Vajjians meet together in concord, and 
rise in concord, and carry out their undertakings in con- 
cord — so long as they enact nothing already established, 
abrogate nothing that has been already enacted, and act 
in accordance with the ancient institutions of the Vajjians, 
as established in former days — so long as they honour and 
esteem and revere the Vajjian elders, and hold it a point 
of duty to hearken to their words — so long as no women 
or girls belonging to their clans are detained among them 
by force or abduction — so long as they honour and esteem 
and revere and support the Vajjian shrines in town or 
country, and allow not the proper offerings and rites, as 
formerly given and performed, to fall into desuetude — so 
long as the rightful protection, defence, and support shall 
be fully provided for the Arahats amongst them, so that 
Arahats from a distance may enter the realm, and the 
Arahats therein may live at ease — so long may the 
Vajjians be expected not to decline, but to prosper." 
72 



Destruction of the Sakyas 

Following upon this pronouncement the Master in like 
manner assembled the Brethren, and set forth forty-one con- 
ditions of welfare of a religious Order, of which conditions 
several relating to concord and to the observance and main- 
tenance of existing regulations and obedience and respect to 
elders are identical with those which are given for the secular 
society. Amongst others we may note the following : 
" So long, O Bhikkhus ... as the Brethren delight in a 
life of solitude . . . shall not engage in, be fond of, or be 
connected with business . . . shall not stop on their way 
to Nibbana because they have attained to any lesser thing 
. . . shall exercise themselves in mental activity, search 
after truth, energy, joy, peace, earnest contemplation, and 
equanimity of mind . . . shall exercise themselves in the 
realization of the ideas of the impermanency of all 
phenomena, bodily or mental, the absence of every soul 
. . . shall live among the Arahats in the practice, both 
in public and in private, of those virtues which are pro- 
ductive of freedom and praised by the wise, and are 
untarnished by desire of a future life or the faith in the 
efficacy of outward acts . . . shall live among the Arahats, 
cherishing, both in public and private, that noble and 
saving insight which leads to the complete destruction of 
the sorrow of him who acts according to it — so long may 
the Brethren be expected not to decline, but to prosper." 
And at Rajagaha, on the Vulture's Peak, the Master 
taught the Brethren, and again at Nalanda in the same 
manner. "Such and such is upright conduct; such and 
such is earnest contemplation ; such and such is intelli- 
gence. 1 Great becomes the fruit, great the advantage of 

1 Si/a, samddhi, and pahiia, something like the ' works,' ' faith,' and 
1 reason ' of Christianity. The formula above quoted appears repeatedly 
as a familiar summary of the Buddha's discourse. 

73 



Buddha Sf the Gospel of Buddhism 

earnest contemplation, when it is set round with upright 
conduct. Great becomes the fruit, great the advantage 
of intellect, when it is set round with earnest contempla- 
tion. The mind, set round with intelligence, is set quite 
free from the Intoxications, that is to say, from the In- 
toxication of Sensuality, from the Intoxication of Becoming, 
from the Intoxication of Delusion, from the Intoxication 
of Ignorance." 

The gift of a garden by Ambapali 
Then the Master proceeded to Vesali. At this time, also, 
there was dwelling in the town of Vesali a beautiful and 
wealthy courtesan whose name was Ambapali, the Mango- 
girl. It was reported to her that the Blessed One had 
come to Vesali and was halting at her Mango Grove. 
Immediately she ordered her carriages and set out for the 
grove, attended by all her train; and as soon as she 
reached the place where the Blessed One was, she went 
up toward him on foot, and stood respectfully aside; 
and the Blessed One instructed and gladdened her with 
religious discourse. And she, being thus instructed and 
gladdened, addressed the Blessed One and said : " May 
the Master do me the honour to take his meal with all 
the Brethren at my house to-morrow." And the Blessed 
One gave consent by silence. Ambapali bowed down 
before him and went her way. 1 

Now the Licchavi princes of Vesali also came to know 
that the Blessed One had come to the town, and they too 
proceeded to the Mango Grove where he was halting. 

1 The picture of the wealthy and truly pious courtesan, ' gladdened by 
religious discourse,' remains true to Indian life in old-fashioned cities 
even at the present day. The whole episode exhibits a beautiful 
tolerance, recalling the like stories of the Christian Magdalene. For 
Ambapali' s ' Psalm,' see p. 285 seq. 

74 



The last Retreat 

And as they went they met with Ambapali returning, and 
she drove up against them axle to axle, and wheel to 
wheel, so that they all exclaimed: "How comes it, 
Ambapali, that thou drivest up against us thus?" "My 
Lords," she made answer, " I have just invited the 
Blessed One and his Brethren for their to-morrow's meal." 
Then the princes replied : " O, Ambapali, give up this 
meal to us for the sum of a hundred thousand." " My 
Lords," she said, "if you were to offer to me all Vesali 
with its subject territory, I would not give up so honour- 
able a feast." Then the Licchavis cast up their hands 
and exclaimed: "We are outdone by the Mango-girl! " 
and they went on their way to the Mango Grove. And 
when they, too, had greeted the Blessed One and had 
hearkened to his instruction, they addressed the Master 
and said: "May the Blessed One do us the honour to 
take his meal, with all the Brethren, at our house 
to-morrow." But the Buddha replied: "O, Licchavis, 
I have promised to dine to-morrow with Ambapali the 
courtesan." And again the princes exclaimed : " We are 
outdone by the Mango-girl ! " 

The next day Ambapali served the Lord and all the 
Brethren with her own hands, and when they would eat 
no more she called for a low stool and sat down beside 
the Master and said : " Lord, I make a gift of this 
mansion to the Order of which thou art the chief." And 
the Blessed One accepted the gift ; and after instructing 
and gladdening Ambapali with religious discourse, he 
rose from his seat and went his way. 

The last Retreat 

From Vesali the Master went to the neighbouring village 

of Beluva, where he spent the last Retreat. There a severe 

75 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

sickness came upon him. But the Exalted One, considering 
that his time was not yet come, and that it was not right 
that he should pass away without taking leave of the 
Order, "by a great effort of the will bent that sickness 
down again, and kept his hold on life till the time he 
fixed upon should come : and the sickness abated upon him." 
Now when he had quite recovered, he came out from his 
lodging, and sat down upon a seat, and there Ananda 
came to him and saluted him and said : " I have beheld, 
Lord, how the Exalted One was in health, and I have 
beheld how the Exalted One had to suffer. And though 
at the sight of the sickness of the Exalted One my body 
became weak as a creeper, and the horizon became dim to 
me, and my faculties were no longer clear, yet notwith- 
standing I took some little comfort from the thought that 
the Exalted One would not pass away until at least he had 
left instructions as touching the Order," 
" What then, Ananda," said the Buddha, " does the Order 
expect that of me? I have preached the truth without 
making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric 
doctrine; for in respect of the truths, Ananda, He-who- 
has-thus-attained has no such thing as the closed fist of a 
teacher, who keeps some things back. Surely, Ananda, 
should there be anyone who harbours the thought, * It is I 
who will lead the brotherhood,' or 'the Order is depen- 
dent upon me,' it is he who should lay down instructions 
in any matter concerning the Order. Now He-who-has- 
thus-attained, Ananda, thinks not that it is he who should 
lead the brotherhood, or that the Order is dependent upon 
him. Why then should he leave instructions in any 
matter concerning the Order ? I too, O Ananda, am now 
grown old, and full of years, my journey is drawing to its 
close, I have reached my sum of days, I am turning eighty 

7 6 



V 
BUDDHA AND ANANDA 

Nanda Lal Bose 

Page 76 






The last Retreat 

years of age ; and just as a worn-out cart, Ananda, can be 
kept going only with the help of thongs, so, methinks, the 
body of Him-who-has-thus-attained can only be kept 
going by bandaging it up. It is only, Ananda, when the 
Tathagata, by ceasing to attend to any outward thing, 
becomes plunged by the cessation of any separate sensation 
in that concentration of heart which is concerned with no 
material object — it is only then that the body of Him-who- 
has-thus-attained is at ease. 

" Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be 
ye a refuge to yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external 
refuge. Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp. Hold fast as 
a refuge to the Truth. Look not for refuge to anyone 
besides yourselves. . . . And whosoever, Ananda, either 
now or after I am dead, shall be a lamp unto themselves, 
shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding 
fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast as their 
refuge to the Truth, shall look not for refuge to any- 
one besides themselves — it is they, Ananda, among my 
Bhikkhus who shall reach the very topmost Height! — 
but they must be anxious to learn." * 
Upon another occasion the Master walked with Ananda 
to the Capala shrine: and he began to speak of his 
coming death. And when Ananda was grieved, and would 
have besought him to remain on earth, he said : 
" But now, Ananda, have I not formerly declared to you 
that it is in the very nature of all things, near and dear 
unto us, that we must divide ourselves from them, leave 
them, sever ourselves from them? How, then, Ananda, 
can this be possible — whereas anything whatever born, 

1 This noble passage — I quote the translation of Professor Rhys Davids 
— expresses with admirable literary art the pure individualism of Buddhist 
thought, here so nearly akin to that of Whitman and Nietzsche. 

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Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

brought into being, and organized, contains within itself 
the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can this be 
possible that such a being should not be dissolved ? No 
such condition can exist ! And, Ananda, that which has 
been relinquished, cast away, renounced, rejected, and 
abandoned by the Tathagata — the remaining sum of life 
surrendered by him — verily with regard to that, the word 
has gone forth from the Tathagata, saying : 'The 
passing away of Him-who-has-thus-attained shall take 
place before long. At the end of three months from this 
time the Tathagata will die!' That the Tathagata for 
the sake of living should repent him again of that saying 
— this can no wise be ! " 

Thereafter the Buddha set out with Ananda to go to the 
Kutagara Hall in the Great Forest. And being arrived 
there, the Brethren were assembled, and the Buddha 
exhorted them, and made public announcement of his 
coming death. " Behold, now, O Brethren, I exhort you, 
saying : ' All component things must grow old. Work 
out your salvation with diligence. The final extinction 
of the Tathagata will take place before long. At the 
end of three months from this time the Tathagata will 
die!'" 

The Last Meal 

Thereafter the Buddha proceeded to Para, and he halted 

at the Mango Grove of Cunda, an hereditary smith. 

And when this was reported to Cunda he hastened to 

the grove; there the Buddha instructed and gladdened 

him with religious discourse. And he invited the 

Master and the Brethren to dine at his house on the 

morrow. 

Early in the morning Cunda the smith prepared sweet 

78 



rv 



Conversion of Pukkusa 

rice and cake and a dish of pork : 1 and he announced the 
hour to the Exalted One. And he, taking his bowl, 
proceeded to the house of Cunda the smith, and partook 
of the meal prepared, and afterward he instructed and 
gladdened Cunda the smith with religious discourse. 
But when the Exalted One had partaken of the meal 
prepared by Cunda the smith, there fell upon him a dire 
sickness, the disease of dysentery and sharp pain came 
upon him, even unto death. But the Exalted One, mind- 
ful and self-possessed, bore it without complaint, and 
when he was a little relieved he said to Ananda : " Come, 
Ananda, let us go on to Kusinara. ,, "Even so, lord," 
said the venerable Ananda. 

Now the Exalted One turned aside from the path to the 
foot of a certain tree, and said to Ananda, " Fold, I pray 
you, Ananda, the robe in four, and spread it out for me. 
I am weary, Ananda, and must rest awhile." " Even so, 
lord," said the venerable Ananda. And when he was 
seated he asked for water, and Ananda brought it, from a 
neighbouring stream — and he found the water of the 
stream was running clear, notwithstanding that a caravan 
of five hundred carts had just passed the ford. 

Conversion of Pukkusa 

Immediately after this there passed by a young man, by 
name Pukkusa, a disciple of Alara Kalama. And he 
related to the Buddha how upon a certain occasion this 
Alara Kalama had been sitting beside the road, and was 
so absorbed in meditation that five hundred carts passed 
him by, so nearly that even his robe was sprinkled with 
the dust : and a certain man was so much impressed by 

1 Or perhaps truffles. But there is nothing contrary to Buddhist practice 
in eating flesh prepared and offered by others. 

79 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

this profound abstraction that he became Alara's disciple. 
Upon hearing this story the Buddha replied by relating 
an occasion of even greater abstraction, on his own part, 
when, as he was walking to and fro upon a certain 
threshing-floor at Atuma, the rain fell and lightning 
flashed, and two peasants and four men were killed by a 
thunderbolt — and yet though conscious and awake, he 
neither saw nor heard the storm : and upon that occasion 
in like manner a certain man was so much impressed 
by the Master's abstraction that he became a disciple. 
Upon hearing this relation, Pukkusa's faith in Alara 
Kalama faded away, and he resorted to the Exalted 
One, and to the Law and to the Brotherhood as his 
refuge, and requested the Exalted One to accept him as a 
lay disciple. And he sent for two robes of cloth of gold 
and presented them to the Master, and so went his way. 
But when Ananda folded the robes and the Master wore 
them, the golden cloth seemed to have lost its brightness 
— and this was because whenever One-who-has-thus 
attained attains to Perfect Enlightenment, as also on 
the day when he passes away, the colour of his skin 
becomes exceeding bright. " And now," said the Master, 
"the utter passing away of Him-who-has-thus-attained, 
will take place at the third watch of this night in the 
Sala-grove of the Mallians. Come, Ananda, let us go on 
to the river Kakuttha." " Even so, lord ! " said the 
venerable Ananda. 

The Exalted One went down into the water of the river 
Kakuttha, and bathed and drank; and then, taking his 
seat upon the bank, he spoke with Ananda concerning 
Cunda the smith, that none should impute the least 
blame to him because the Master died after receiving the 
last meal at his hands. On the contrary, he said, there 
80 



The Master's Death 

are two offerings of food which are supremely precious — 
that which is given immediately before One-who-has-thus- 
come attains to Perfect Insight, and the other before his 
utter passing away: and "there has been laid up to 
Cunda the smith a kamma redounding to length of life, 
good birth, good fortune and good fame, and to the 
inheritance of heaven and of sovereign power ; and there- 
fore let not Cunda the smith feel any remorse.' ' 

The Master's Death 

Then the Exalted One said to Ananda : " Come, Ananda, 
let us go on to the Sala-grove of the Mallas, on the 
further side of the river Hiranyavatl." And when they 
were come there, he said: "Spread over for me, I pray 
you, Ananda, the couch with its head to the north, between 
the Twin Sala trees. I am weary, Ananda, and would lie 
down." " Even so, lord ! " said the venerable Ananda. 
And the Exalted One laid himself down on his right side, 
with one leg resting on the other; and he was mindful 
and self-possessed. 

And now there came to pass certain marvels, and the 
Master spoke of these to Ananda, and said: "The twin 
Sala trees are all one mass of bloom with flowers out of 
season ; all over the body of Him-who-has-thus-attained, 
these drop and sprinkle and scatter themselves, out of 
reverence for the successors of the Buddhas of old. And 
heavenly music sounds in the sky, out of reverence for 
the successors of the Buddhas of old. But it is not 
thus, Ananda, that He-who-has-thus-attained is rightly 
honoured, and reverenced. But the brother or the sister, 
the devout man or woman who continually fulfils all the 
greater and lesser duties, who is correct in life, walking 
according to the precepts — it is he who rightly honours 

f 81 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

and reverences the Tathagata. And therefore, Ananda, 
be ye constant in the fulfilment of the greater and the 
lesser duties, and be ye correct in life, walking according 
to the precepts ; and thus, Ananda, should it be taught." 
Then the Buddha addressed Ananda, and said to him 
that he saw a great host of the gods assembled together 
to behold the Tathagata upon the night of his final 
passing away : and a host of spirits of the air and of the 
earth, " of worldly mind, who dishevel their hair and 
weep, who stretch forth their arms and weep, who fall 
prostrate on the ground, and roll to and fro in anguish 
at the thought 'Too soon will the Exalted One pass 
away! Too soon will the Exalted One die! Too soon 
will the Eye in the world pass away ! ' " " But," 
the Master continued, "the spirits who are free from 
passion bear it calm and self-possessed, mindful of 
the saying— ' Impermanent, indeed, are all component 
things.'" 

And the Master made mention of four places that should 
be visited by the clansmen with feelings of reverence — 
the place where the Tathagata was born, the place where 
he attained Supreme Enlightenment, the place where the 
kingdom of righteousness was established, and the place 
where the Tathagata utterly [ passed away : " and they, 
Ananda, who shall die while they, with believing heart, 
are journeying on such a pilgrimage, shall be reborn after 
death, when the body shall dissolve, in the happy realms 
of heaven." 

When Ananda enquired what should be done with the 
remains of the Tathagata, he answered: "Hinder not 
yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of Him- 
who-has-thus-attained. Be zealous, I beseech you, Ananda, 
on your own behalf ! Devote yourselves to your own good ! 
82 



The Master's Death 

There are lay disciples who will do due honour to the 
remains of the Tathagata." 

Now Ananda had not yet attained to Arahatta, he was 
still a student, and he went away to the monastery, and 
stood leaning against the lintel of the door, weeping at 
the thought ' Alas 1 I remain still but a learner, one who 
has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master 
is about to pass away — he who is so kind I ' Then the 
Exalted One summoned the Brethren and said, " Where 
now, brethren, is Ananda?" and they answered: "The 
venerable Ananda, lord, has gone into the monastery, and 
is leaning against the lintel of the door, and weeping at 
the thought ' Alas ! I remain still but a learner, one who 
has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master 
is about to pass away — he who is so kind I ' " Then the 
Exalted One called a certain Brother and sent him to 
Ananda with the message : " Brother Ananda, the Master 
calls for thee." And Ananda came accordingly, and 
bowed before the Exalted One and took his seat respect- 
fully. Then the Exalted One said : " Enough, Ananda I 
do not let yourself be troubled ; do not weep ! Have I 
not already, on former occasions, told you that it is in the 
very nature of all things most near and dear unto us that 
we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever 
ourselves from them. How, then, Ananda, can this be 
possible — whereas anything whatever born, brought into 
being, and organized, contains within itself the inherent 
necessity of dissolution — how, then, can this be possible, 
that such a being should not be dissolved? No such 
condition can exist. For a long time, Ananda, you have 
been very near to me by acts of love, kind and good, that 
never varies, and is beyond all measure. You have done 
well, Ananda ! Be earnest in effort, and you too shall be 

83 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

free from the Intoxications of Sensuality, of Individuality, 
Delusion and Ignorance." And he praised the able service 
of Ananda before the whole assembly. 
Then the Master said to Ananda: "Go now into the 
village of Kusinara, and inform the Mallas that the 
Tathagata is about to pass away, to the end that they 
may not afterwards reproach themselves by saying : ' In 
our own village the Tathagata died, and we took not the 
occasion to visit the Tathagata in his last hours.' " And 
the Mallas of Kusinara, with their young men and maidens 
and wives were grieved and saddened, and betook them- 
selves to the Sala Grove where the Buddha was lying. 
And Ananda presented them to the Master, family by 
family, in the first watch of the night. 
Now there was at this time a wanderer of the name of 
Subhadda, to whom the Buddha's approaching death 
was made known: and he desired to speak with the 
Master, for the dissipation of his doubt. To this end he 
approached Ananda : but he refused access to the Master, 
saying, " The Exalted One is weary, do not trouble him ! " 
But the Exalted One overheard what was said, and desired 
that Subhadda should be given access : for he knew that 
the questions to be asked were sincere, and that Subhadda 
would understand the answers. And this was what Sub- 
hadda sought to know — whether the leaders of other 
schools of thought, the masters of other congregations, 
such as Nigantha Nataputta, or Sanjaya the former 
teacher of Sariputta and Mogallana, esteemed as good 
men by many, had, as they claimed, attained a true under- 
standing of things, or had some of them so attained, and 
not others ? And the Exalted One declared : " In whatso- 
ever doctrine and discipline, Subhadda, the Ariyan Eight- 
fold Path is not found, there is not found any man of true 

8 4 



The Master's Death 

sainthood, either of the first, the second, the third, or the 
fourth degree. But in that Doctrine and Discipline in 
which is found the Ariyan Eightfold Path, there are men 
of true sainthood, of all the four degrees. Void are the 
systems of other teachers — void of true saints. But in 
this one, Subhadda, may the Brethren live the Perfect 
Life, that the world be not bereft of Arahats." And 
Subhadda's doubt being thus resolved, he resorted to 
the Exalted One, to the Law, and to the Congregation 
as his refuge, and he was received into the Order : and 
"ere long he attained to that supreme goal of the higher 
life (Nibbana), for the sake of which the clansmen go out 
from all and every household gain and comfort, to 
become houseless wanderers — yea, that supreme goal 
did he, by himself, and while yet in this visible world, 
bring himself to the knowledge of, and continue to realize, 
and to see face to face 1 And he became conscious that 
birth was at an end, that the higher life had been fulfilled, 
that all that should be done had been accomplished, and 
that after this present life there would be no beyond." 
Thus it was that the venerable Subhadda became yet 
another among the Arahats ; and he was the last disciple 
whom the Exalted One himself converted. 
Now the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and said 
thrice, " It may be, Brethren, that there may be doubt or 
misgiving in the mind of some Brother as to the Buddha, 
or the doctrine, or the path, or the method. Inquire, 
Brethren, freely, Do not have to reproach yourselves 
afterwards with the thought : ' our teacher was face to 
face with us, and we could not bring ourselves to inquire 
of the Exalted One when we were face to face with him.' " 
But none had any doubt or misgiving. And the vener- 
able Ananda said to the Exalted One : " How wonderful 

85 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

a thing is it, lord, and how marvellous ! Verily I believe 
that in this whole assembly of the Brethren there is not 
one Brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the 
Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path or the method ! " 
And the Buddha answered : " It is out of the fullness of 
faith that thou hast spoken, Ananda ! But, Ananda, the 
Tathagata knows for certain that in his whole assembly of 
the Brethren there is not one Brother who has any doubt or 
misgiving as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path, 
or the method 1 For even the most backward, 1 Ananda, 
of all these five hundred brethren has become converted, 
is no longer liable to be borne in a state of suffering, and 
is assured hereafter of attaining the Enlightenment of 
Arahatta." 

Then again, the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and 
said : " Decay is inherent in all component things ! Work 
out your salvation with diligence ! " 

This was the last word of Him-who-has-thus-attained. 
Then the Exalted One entered the first stage of Rapture, 
and the second, third, and fourth: and rising from the 
fourth stage, he entered into the station of the infinity of 
space: thence again into the station of the infinity of 
thought : thence again into the station of emptiness : then 
into the station between consciousness and unconsciousness : 
and then into the station where the consciousness both of 
sensations and ideas has wholly passed away. And now 
it seemed to Ananda that the Master had passed away : but 
he entered again into every station in reverse order until he 
reached the second stage of Rapture, and thence he passed 
into the third and fourth stages of Rapture. And passing 
out of the last stage of Rapture he immediately expired. 

1 According to Buddhaghosha this refers to Ananda himself, and was 

said for his encouragement. 

86 



The Funeral Rites 

The Distress of the Brethren 

When the Exalted One died, of those of the Brethren who 
were not yet free from the passions, some stretched out 
their arms and wept, and some fell headlong on the ground, 
rolling to and fro in anguish at the thought : " Too soon 
has the Exalted One died ! Too soon has the Happy 
One passed away ! Too soon has the Eye in the world 
passed away." But those of the Brethren who were free 
from the passions, to wit, the Arahats, bore their grief 
collected and composed in the thought : " Impermanent 
are all component things ! How is it possible that they 
should not be dissolved ? " 

And the Venerable Anuruddha exhorted the Brethren, and 
said : " Enough, my Brethren ! Weep not, nor lament ! 
Has not the Exalted One formerly declared this to us, 
that it is in the very nature of all things near and dear 
unto us, that we must divide ourselves from them, leave 
them, sever ourselves from them ? How then, Brethren, 
can this be possible — that when dead anything whatever 
born, brought into being, and organized, contains within 
itself the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can 
this be possible that such a being should not be dissolved ? 
No such condition can exist ! " 

The Funeral Rites 

On the next day Ananda informed the Mallas of Kusinara 
that the Exalted One had passed away ; and they too 
stretched forth their arms and wept, or fell prostrate on 
the ground, or reeled to and fro in anguish at the 
thought : " Too soon has the Exalted One died ! " And 
they took perfumes and garlands, and all the music in 
Kusinara, and proceeded to the Sala Grove, where the 

87 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

body of the Exalted One was lying. And they spent 
there six days paying honour and homage to the remains 
of the Exalted One, with dancing and hymns and music, 
and with garlands and perfumes. On the seventh day 
they bore the body of the Exalted One through the city 
and out by the Eastern gate to the shrine of the Mallas, 
there to be burnt upon the pyre. They wrapped the body 
in layers of carded cotton wool and woven cloth, and 
placed it in a vessel of iron, and that again in another; 
and building a funeral pyre of perfumed woods, they laid 
the body of the Exalted One upon it. Then four chief- 
tains of the Mallas bathed their heads and clad themselves 
in new garments with the intention of setting on fire the 
funeral pyre. But lo, they were not able to set it burning. 
Now the reason of this was that the venerable Maha 
Kassapa was then journeying from Pava to Kusinara with 
a company of five hundred Brethren : and it was willed by 
the gods that the pyre should not take fire until the 
venerable Maha Kassapa together with these Brethren 
had saluted the feet of the Master. And when Maha 
Kassapa came to the place of the funeral pyre, then he 
walked thrice round about it and bowed in reverence to 
the feet of the Exalted One, and so did the five hundred 
Brethren. And when this was ended, the funeral pyre 
caught fire of itself. 

And what was burnt was the flesh and the fluids of the 
body, and all the wrappings, and only the bones were left 
behind ; and when the body was thus burnt, streams of 
water fell from the sky and rose up from the ground and 
extinguished the flames, and the Mallas also extinguished 
the fire with vessels of scented water. They laid the 
bones in state in the Council Hall of the Mallas, set round 
with a lattice-work of spears and a rampart of bows, and 
88 



VI 

THE FINAL RELEASE 

Abanindro Nath Tagore 

Page 88 



The Funeral Rites 

there for seven days they paid honour and reverence to 
them with dancing and music and garlands and perfumes. 
Now these matters were reported to Ajatasattu, and to 
the Licchavis of Vesali, and to the Sakyas of Kapi- 
lavatthu, and the Bulis of Alakappa, and the Koliyas of 
Ramagama, and to the Brahman of Vethadlpa; and all 
these, with the Mallas of Kusinara, laid claim to the 
remains of the Exalted One, and wished to erect a mound 
above them, and to celebrate a feast of honour. The 
Mallas, however, saying that the Exalted One had died 
in their village, refused to part with the remains. Then 
a certain Brahman of the name of Dona reminded the 
assembled chieftains that the Buddha was wont to teach 
forbearance, and he recommended that the remains should 
be divided into eight portions, and that a monument 
should be erected by each of those who laid claim, in 
their several territories ; and this was done accordingly. 
Dona himself erected a monument over the vessel in 
which the remains had been guarded, and the Moriyas of 
Pippalivana, who made claim to a share when the dis- 
tribution had already been made, erected a mound above 
the ashes of the fire. And thus there were eight monu- 
ments for the remains of the Exalted One, and one other 
for the vessel, and another for the ashes. 



8 9 



PART II : THE GOSPEL OF EARLY 
BUDDHISM 

/. DHAMMA, THE DOCTRINE AND 
DISCIPLINE . 

Just, Brethren, as the wide sea has but one taste, the taste 
of salt, so also, Brethren, have this Doctrine and Discipline 
one only taste, the taste of Salvation. — Cullavagga ix. 

THE whole of the doctrine [dhamma, Sanskrit dharmd) 
of Gautama is simply and briefly capitulated in the 
Four Ariyan Truths {Ariyasaccani) or axioms : That 
there is suffering {Dukkha)) that it has a cause (Samudaj/a), 
that it can be suppressed (Nirodka), and that there is a way 
to accomplish this (Magga), the * Path.' This represents 
the application of current medical science to the healing 
of the spiritually sick. The good physician, seeing Every- 
man in pain, proceeds to diagnosis : he reflects upon the 
cure, and commends .the necessary regime to the patient 
— this is the history of the life of Gautama. The sick 
soul knows its sickness only by its pain; it seeks the 
cause of its suffering, and the assurance of a remedy, and 
asks what shall it do to be saved — this is the history of 
those who take refuge in the Law of the Buddha. 
Let us repeat here the essential part of Gautama's first 
sermon : 1 

" This, O monks, is the Ariyan Truth of Suffering : Birth 
is suffering, old age is suffering, sickness is suffering, 
death is suffering, to be united with the unloved is suffer- 
ing, to be separated from the loved is suffering, not to 
obtain what one desires is suffering ; in short, the fivefold 
clinging to the earth is suffering. 

1 Here after Oldenberg, Buddha^ 2nd English ed., p. 206, with a few 
verbal alterations. 
90 



Dukkha 

"This, O monks, is the Ariyan Truth of the Origin of 
Suffering : It is the will to life which leads from birth to 
birth, together with lust and desire, which finds gratification 
here and there; the thirst for pleasures, the thirst for 
being, the thirst for power. 

11 This, O monks, is the Ariyan Truth of the Extinction of 
Suffering : The extinction of this thirst by complete 
annihilation of desire, letting it go, expelling it, separating 
oneself from it, giving it no room. 

" This, O monks, is the Ariyan Truth of the Path which 
leads to the Extinction of Suffering : It is this sacred 
Eightfold Path, to-wit: Right Belief, Right Aspiration, 
Right Speech, Right Living, Right Effort, Right Recol- 
lectedness, Right Rapture." 

It is the first division of the Eightfold Path, Right Belief, 
Views, or Faith, which constitute the Gospel of Buddha, 
the Doctrine of Buddhism, which we shall now set forth 
systematically. This teaching consists in a knowledge of 
the world and of man " as they really are." This right 
knowledge is most tersely summarized in the triple 
formula of Dukkha^ Anicca, Anatta — Suffering, Imper- 
manence, Non-egoity. The knowledge of these principles 
is a knowledge of The Truth. 1 Let us consider them in 
order and detail. 

Dukkha 

The existence of Suffering, or Evil, is the very raison- 

d'etre of Buddhism : 

" If these things were not in the world, my disciples, 

the Perfect One, the holy Supreme Buddha, would not 

appear in the world; the law and the doctrine which 

the Perfect One propounded would not shine in the 

1 Majjhima MMjya, i, 140. 

91 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

world. What three things are they? Birth, old age, 
and death. 

" Both then and now, says the Buddha again, just this do 
I reveal : Suffering and the Extinction of Suffering." 
Dukkha is to be understood both as symptom and as 
disease. In the first sense it includes all possible physical 
and mental loss, "all the meanness and agony without 
end," suffering and imperfection of whatever sort to which 
humanity and all living beings (gods not excepted) are 
subject. In the second sense it is the liability to ex- 
perience these evils, which is inseparable from individual 
existence. 

So far Gautama has put forward nothing which is not 
obviously a statement of fact. It might, indeed, appear 
that in our life pain is compensated for by pleasure, and 
the balance must indeed be exact here, as between all 
pairs of opposites. But as soon as we reflect, we shall 
see that pleasure itself is the root of pain, for " Sorrow 
springs from the flood of sensual pleasure as soon as 
the object of sensual desire is removed." * In the words 
that are quoted on our title-page : Vraiement comencent 
amours en wye et fynissent en dolours ; in the words of 
Nietzsche, " Said ye ever Yea to one joy ? O my friends, 
then said ye Yea also unto all Woe." 
According to the Dhammapada : 

" From merriment cometh sorrow ; from merriment 
cometh fear. Whosoever is free from merriment, for 
him there is no sorrow : whence should fear come to 
him? From love cometh sorrow; from love cometh 
fear. Whosoever is free from love, for him there is no 
sorrow : whence should come fear to him ? " 
But not only is pleasure the prelude to pain, pleasure is 
1 Visuddhi Magga, xvii. 
92 






Anicca 

pain itself; again in the words of Nietzsche, "Pleasure 
is a form of pain." 

For there is for ever a skeleton at the feast : happiness in 
the positive sense, joy that depends on contact with the 
source of pleasure external to oneself, cannot be grasped, 
it cannot endure from one moment to another. It is the 
vanity of vanities to cling to that which never is, but is 
for ever changing; and those who realize that all this 
world of our experience is a Becoming, and never attains 
to Being, will not cling to that which cannot be grasped, 
and is entirely void. 

Accordingly, the whole of Buddhist psychology is directed 
to an analysis of consciousness, directed to reveal its ever- 
changing and composite character. 

Anicca 

Impermanence is the inexorable, fundamental and pitiless 
law of all existence. 

"There are five things which no Samana, and no 
Brahman, and no god, neither Mara, nor Brahma, nor 
any being in the universe, can bring about. What five 
things are those ? That what is subject to old age 
should not grow old, that what is subject to sickness 
should not be sick, that what is subject to death 
should not die, that what is subject to decay should 
not decay, that what is liable to pass away should not 
pass away. This no Samana can bring about, nor any 
god, neither Mara, nor Brahma, nor any being in the 
universe." 

Just as Brahmanical thought accepts the temporal eter- 
nity of the Samsara, an eternal succession and coincidence 
of evolution and involution, and an eternal succession of 
Brahmas, past and future : so also Gautama lays emphasis 

93 



Buddha ^P the Gospel of Buddhism 

— and more special emphasis, perhaps — upon the eternal 
succession of Becoming. The following stanza has indeed 
been called the Buddhist confession of faith, and it 
appears more frequently than any other text in Indian 
Buddhist inscriptions : 

Of those conditions which spring from a cause 
The cause has been told by Tathagata : 
And the manner of their suppression 
The great Samand has likewise taught. 

How essential in Buddhism is the doctrine of the eternal 
succession of causes appears from the fact that it is often 
spoken of as the gospel : 

" I will teach you the Dhamma," says Gautama, " That 
being present, this becomes; from the arising of that, 
this arises. That being absent, this does not become; 
from the cessation of that, this ceases." l 
We read again that " Dhamma-analysis is knowledge 
concerning conditions." 2 

What he taught was designed to avoid the two extreme 
doctrines of realism and nihilism, the belief in pheno- 
menal being and the belief that there is no phenomenal 
process at all. " Everything is : this, O Kaccana, is 
one extreme view. Everything is not : this is the second 
extreme view. Avoiding both these extremes, the 
Tathagata teaches the Norm by the Mean." This 
doctrine of the Mean asserts that everything is a 
Becoming, a flux without beginning (first cause) or end ; 
there exists no static moment when this becoming 
attains to beinghood — no sooner can we conceive it by 

1 Majjhima Nik&ya^ ii, 32. 2 Vibhanga. 

94 



Anicca 

the attributes of name and form, than it has trans- 
migrated or changed to something else. In place 
of an individual, there exists a succession of instants of 
consciousness. 

"Strictly speaking, the duration of the life of a living 
being is exceedingly brief, lasting only while a thought 
lasts. Just as a chariot wheel in rolling rolls only at one 
point of the tire, and in resting rests only at one point; 
in exactly the same way, the life of a living being lasts 
only for the period of one thought. As soon as that 
thought has ceased, the living being is said to have ceased. 
" As it has been said : 

"The being of a past moment of thought has lived, but 
does not live, nor will it live. 

" The being of a future moment of thought will live, but 
has not lived, nor does it live. 

" The being of the present moment of thought does live, 
but has not lived, nor will it live." * 

We are deceived if we allow ourselves to believe that 
there is ever a pause in the flow of becoming, a resting- 
place where positive existence is attained for even the 
briefest duration of time. It is only by shutting our eyes 
to the succession of events that we come to speak of 
things rather than of processes. The quickness or 
slowness of the process does not affect the generalization. 
Consider a child, a boy, a youth, a man, and an old man ; 
when did any of these exist ? there was an organism, which 
had been a babe, and was coming to be a child ; had been 
a child, and was coming to be a boy; and so on. The 
seed becomes seedling, and seedling a tree, and the tree 
lets fall its seeds. It is only by continuity, by watching 
the process of Becoming that we can identify the old man 
I l Visuddhi Magga, Ch. VIII. 

95 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

with the babe, the tree with the seed ; but the old man is 
not (identical with) the babe, nor the tree (with) the seed. 
The substance of our bodies, and no less the constitution 
of our souls, changes from moment to moment. That we 
give to such individuals a name and form is a pragmatic 
convention, and not the evidence of any inner reality. 
Every existence is organic, and the substance of its 
existence is a continuity of changes, each of which is 
absolutely determined by pre-existing conditions. 
Why is this law of causality of such great importance for 
Gautama, whose doctrine is not a mental gymnastic, but 
"just this : Evil and the Cessation of Evil " ? Because 
this doctrine is precisely the physician's diagnosis of the 
disease of Dukkka. As a constitutional disease, it is set 
forth in the well-known series of the Twelve JVtddnas, the 
interconnection of which is spoken of as the Law of 
Dependent Origination (Paticca-samupadd). The Twelve 
Nidanas, afterwards called the wheel of causation, are 
repeated in no less than ninety-six Suttas; and the im- 
portance of the series arises from the fact that it is at once 
a general explanation of phenomena, and an explanation 
of the special phenomenon of Evil in which the Buddhist 
were most interested. The effect of the series is to show 
that vinnana, the consciousness of I, does not reside in an 
eternal soul, but is a contingent phenomenon arising by 
way of cause and effect. It should be noted, as Professor 
Rhys Davids has pointed out, that the value of the series 
does not lie in the fact that it explains Evil, but in the 
fact that the right understanding of Causal Origination con- 
stitutes that very insight by which the source of Evil — 
consciousness of I and the desires of the I — is destroyed. 
The * Wheel of Causation ' turns as follows : * 
1 Majjhima Nikaya, i, 140. 

96 



Anicca 

Other lives Ignorance {avijja) 

(past) Misperceptions (sankhara) or vain imagin- 

ing, will {cetana) 



Consciousness (of I, etc.) (yinnand) 
Name and Form, i.e. Mind and Body, 
(ndtna-rufta) 
This present Sense organs (sadayatana) 
life Contact (spassd) 

and Emotion (yedana) 

Craving (tanha) 
Attachment (upadana) 

Other lives Coming-to-be (bhavd) 

(future) Rebirth {jati) 

Old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, 
evil, grief , despair {ja7^dmaranam i etc.) 

This list, wherever it occurs, ends with the formula ' Such 
is the uprising of this entire body of Evil.' It should be 
noted that the whole series of terms is not always repeated, 
and not always in the same order; these are rather the 
spokes of a wheel than its circumference. 
If we now ask what is the effect and what cause, it is 
clear that Ignorance lies at the root of all. From Ignor- 
ance arises the thought of entity, whereas there exists but 
a becoming ; from the thought of self as entity, and from 
the desires of Me, arises life; life is inseparable from 
Evil. 

The diagnosis implies the cure ; it is the removal of the 
conditions which maintain the pathological state. These 
conditions which maintain Ignorance, are primarily 
Craving, and the thought of I and Mine, with all its 

G 97 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

implications of selfishness and superstition. The means to 
accomplish the cure are set forth in the mental and moral 
discipline of the Buddhist ' Wanderers.' 

Anatta 

Practically inseparable from the doctrine of Anicca is that 
of Anattdy that there exists no changeless entity in any 
thing, and above all, no ' eternal soul ' in man. Ananda 
inquires of the Buddha : 

" What is meant, lord, by the phrase, The world is empty ? " 
The Buddha replies: "That it is empty, Ananda, of 
a self, or of anything of the nature of a self. And what 
is it that is thus empty ? The five seats of the five senses, 
and the mind, and the feeling that is related to mind : all 
these are void of a self or of anything that is self-like." 1 
Mental states are phenomena like other phenomena, and 
nothing substantial such as a soul or ego lies behind them ; 
just as the names of things are concepts. The favourite 
similes are drawn from natural phenomena and from 
things constructed, such as a river, or a chariot. If you 
except the water, the sand, the hither bank and the further 
bank, where can you find the Ganges ? If you divide the 
chariot into its component parts, such as the wheels, the 
poles, the axle, the body, the seat, and so forth, what 
remains of the chariot but a name? 2 In the same way it 
will be found that when the component parts of con- 
sciousness are analyzed, there is no residue ; the individual 
maintains a seeming identity from moment to moment, 
but this identity merely consists in a continuity of moments 
of consciousness, it is not the absence of change. 
" Like a river," says a modern Buddhist, " which still main- 
tains one constant form, one seeming identity, though not a 

1 Samyutta Nikaya^ iv, 54. 2 See below, p. 296. 

98 



Anatta 

single drop remains to-day of all the volume that composed 
the river yesterday." * 

It is of the utmost importance to realize this truth, because 
for the individual possessed with the notion " I am form ; 
form belongs to the I," " through the changing and altera- 
tion of form arise sorrow, misery, grief, and despair." 
The simile of the river emphasizes the continuity of an 
ever-changing identity. Another simile, drawn from 
sleep and dream, emphasizes the intermittent nature of 
consciousness ; the ordinary course of organic existence, 
called bkavanga-gati, is compared to the flow of dream- 
less sleep; consciousness is only awakened when some 
external stimulus causes a vibration in the normal flow. 
The complex elements of conscious existence are spoken 
of by the Buddhists in two ways — in the first place as 
Ndma-rupa, literally name and form, that is to say, 
1 man's nature and fleshly substance ' ; and in the second 
place, as the Five aggregates (khandka, skandka). These 
two or five embrace the whole of conscious experience 
without leaving over any activity to be explained by a 
'soul.' The relation of the two schemes will appear from 
the following table : 

Mental factor Physical factor 

i . Ndma- (synonyms : vinndna, citta, rupa 

niano, i.e. consciousness, heart, 

mind). 
2. Vedand, sannd, sankkdra, vinndna, 

(i.e. feeling, perception, will, etc., ?upa 

and awareness). 

In both cases rupa is the physical organism (not * form ' 

1 Anuruddha, Compendium of Philosophy. Introd. Essay by S. Z. 
Aung, p. 9. 

99 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

in a philosophic or aesthetic sense), the fleshly nature ; 
Nania is name or mind ; nama and tupa, name (mere 
words) and body, are just those things by which a ' person,' 
in fact complex and variable, appears to be a unity. In 
the second group, which is not, like the first, borrowed 
directly from the Upanishads, greater stress is laid on the 
several elements of the mental factor, with the practical 
object of shutting out any possible loophole for the intro- 
duction of the idea of a mind of soul as an unchanging 
unity. 

Vedana is ' feeling,', with the hedonistic significance of 
pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral, resulting from contact 
with the objects of sense, and itself producing tanka, 
craving or desire. It is emphasized that ' there is no 
distinct entity that feels,' ' it is only feeling that feels or 
enjoys,' and this 'because of some object which is in 
causal relation to pleasant or other feeling' (Buddha- 
ghosha). Buddhist thought knows no subject, and 
concentrates its attention upon the object. 
Sanna is perception of all kinds, sensuous or mental, that 
is to say, ' awareness with recognition, this being expressed 
by naming' (Rhys Davids). 

The Sankharas form a complex group, including cetana, 
or will (volition), 1 and a series of fifty-one coefficients of 
any conscious state. 

Vinnana is ' any awareness of mind, no matter how 
general or how abstract the content.' 
It is to be noted that the terms rupa and vinnana are 
used in a more restricted sense in the fivefold classification 
than when used to embrace the whole of conscious exist- 
ence. The rather cumbrous system of the khandhas was 

1 " I say that cetana is action ; thinking, one acts by deed, word, or 

thought." — Anguttara Nikaya, iii, 415. 

100 



The Four Paths 

later on replaced by a division into citta, mind, and 
cetasika, mental properties. All Indian thinkers are, of 
course, in agreement as to the material, organic nature of 
mind. 

For the serious study of Buddhist psychology the reader 
must consult either of Mrs Rhys Davids, two works on 
this subject. All that need be emphasized here is the 
practical purpose of the Buddhists in making use of these 
classifications. " Why," says Buddhaghosha, " did the 
Exalted One say there were five Aggregates, no less and 
no more ? Because these not only sum up all classes of 
conditioned things, but they afford no foothold for soul 
and the animistic ; moreover, they include all other classi- 
fications." The Buddhists thus appear to admit that 
their psychology is expressly invented to prove their case. 
The Buddhists were, of course, very right in laying 
emphasis on the complex structure of the ego — a fact 
which modern pathological and psychical research increas- 
ingly brings home to us — but this complexity of the ego 
does not touch the question of the Brahmanical Atman, 
which is, ' not so, not so.' * 

So much, then, for the fundamental statement of * Right 
Views.' 

The Four Paths 

Frequent mention has been made of the Four Paths. 
This is a fourfold division of the last of the Four Ariyan 
Truths. The Four Paths, or rather four stages of the one 
Path, are as follows : 

ist. Conversion, entering upon the stream, which follows 
from companionship with the good, hearing the Law, 
enlightened reflection, or the practice of virtue. This 
j l For this question see below, p. 198 seq. 

IOI 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

depends upon a recognition of the Four Ariyan Truths, 
and is subsequent to the earliest step of merely taking 
refuge in the Buddha, the Law, and the Order, a formula 
which is repeated by every professing Buddhist, including 
the many who have not yet entered the Paths. The First 
Path leads to freedom from the delusion of Egoity, from 
doubt regarding the Buddha or his doctrines, and from 
belief in the efficacy of rites and ceremonies. 
2nd. The Second Path is that of those who will only once 
more return to the world, and in that next birth will attain 
Final Release. In this Path the converted individual, 
already free from doubt and from the delusions of self 
and of ritualism, is able to reduce to a minimum the car- 
dinal errors of lust, resentment, and glamour. 
3rd. The Third Path is that of those who will never return 
to this world, but will attain Release in the present life. 
Here the last remnants of lust and of resentment are 
destroyed. 

4th. The Fourth Path is that of the Arahats, the adepts ; 
here the saint is freed from all desire for re-birth, whether 
in worlds of form or no-form, and from pride, self-righteous- 
ness, and ignorance. The state of the Arahat is thus 
described : 

" As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects 
her son, her only son, so let there be goodwill without 
measure among all beings. Let goodwill without measure 
prevail in the whole world, above, below, around, un- 
stinted, unmixed with any feeling of differing or opposing 
interests. If a man remain steadfastly in this state of 
mind all the while he is awake, whether he be standing 
walking, sitting, or lying down, then is come to pass the 
saying, * Even in this world holiness has been found.' " * 

1 Metta Sutta. 
I02 



The Four Paths 

The following are the Ten Fetters, evil states of mind, or 
sins from which the aspirant is freed as he treads the Four 
Paths : 

Sakkaya-ditthiy the delusion of self or soul; Vicikicckd, 
doubt; Szlabbata pdramdsa, dependence upon rites; 
Kama, sensuality, physical desire ; Patigha, hatred, resent- 
ment ; Rupardga, desire for life in worlds of matter ; Aru- 
pardga, desire for life in spiritual worlds ; Mano, pride ; 
Uddkacca, self-righteousness; and Avij'jd, ignorance. 
The aspirant becomes an Arahat when the first five of 
these are wholly overcome. Freedom from the other 
five is the ' Fruit of the Fourth Path.' 
"They, having obtained the Fruit of the Fourth Path, and 
immersed themselves in that living water, have received 
without price, and are in the enjoyment of Nibbana" 
{Ratana Sutta). It will be noticed that a clear distinction 
is here drawn between the attainment of Arahatta and the 
realization of Nibbana, while in other places the two states 
are treated as identical. It is clear, however, that if 
Nibbana is the Fruit of the Fourth Path, those who have 
merely entered that Path, and are thus Arahats, have not 
yet attained the last freedom; they have, indeed, still 
fetters to break. 

There is another grouping of the sins from which the 
Saint is released, known as the Three, or Four Floods, 
or Intoxications or Taints. The three are : (i) Kama 
dsava, sensuality; (2) Bhava dsava, desire for re-birth; 
(3) Avijjd dsava, ignorance of the Four Ariyan Truths; 
while the fourth is Dittki, ' views,' or metaphysical 
speculation. He who is freed from these three, or four, 
Deadly Taints of Lusts, Will to Life, Ignorance, and 
Views, has likewise attained release, and for him there 
is no return. 

103 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

//. SAMSARA AND KAMMA (KARMA) 
We are now in a better position to understand the 
theory of soul-wandering in Early Buddhism. I say 
particularly Early Buddhism, because in the greater 
part of pre-Buddhist thought, and in all popular thought, 
whether Brahmanical or Buddhist, the doctrine of metem- 
psychosis, the passing of life from one form to another 
at death, is conceived animistically as the transmigration 
of an individual soul. 

Take for example, such a text as Bhagavad Gita, ii, 22 : 
"Asa man lays aside outworn garments and takes others 
that are new, so the Body-Dweller puts away outworn 
bodies and goes to others that are new." Here the 
language is plainly animistic. One reader will understand 
that a soul* an ethereal mannikin, removes from one abode 
to another; a second reader, observing that This (Body- 
Dweller) is no other than That which is ' not so, not so,' 
perceives that empirically speaking nothing — nothing that 
we can call anything — transmigrates. There is here an 
ambiguity which is inseparable in the case of all concep- 
tions which are sublimated from experiences originally 
animistic or sensuous. 1 Brahmanical thought does not seek 
to evade this ambiguity of expression, which is, moreover, 
of historical significance; and this continuity of develop- 
ment has the advantage that no impassable gulf is fixed 
between the animist and the philosopher. 
This advantage is emphasized by Sankara in his distinc- 
tion of esoteric and exoteric knowledge, para and apara 

1 As, for example, in the analogous case of rasa, which meant taste or 
flavour in the sense of savour, and has come to mean in a technical 
sense, aesthetic emotion. So with dnanda, originally physical pleasure, 
afterwards also spiritual bliss. 
104 



Samsara and Kamma 

vidya\ to That which is 'not so, not so,' attributes are 
ascribed for purposes of worship or by way of accommoda- 
tion to finite thought. This ascription of attributes, on 
the part of laymen, is regarded by the philosopher with 
lenience : for he understands that the Unshown Way, the 
desire for That-which-is-not, is exceeding hard. Those 
who have not yet won their way to idealism, may not 
and cannot altogether dispense with idols. 1 Brahmanism, 
regarded as a Church, is distinguished from the Buddhism 
of Gautama — not yet the Buddhism of the Buddhist 
Church — by this tenderness to its spiritual children: — 
" Let not him that knoweth much awaken doubt in 
slower men of lesser wit." 2 Gautama, on the other 
hand, is an uncompromising iconoclast. He preaches 
only to higher men, such as will accept the hard sayings 
of Dukkha, Anicca, and Anatta in all their nakedness. 
This position enabled him to maintain one single argu- 
ment with entire consistence ; he needed not to acknow- 
ledge even the relative value of other forms or degrees of 
truth ; he wished to break entirely with current absolutist 
and animistic thought. 

This position emphasized for him the difficulty of express- 
ing what he wished to teach, through the popular and 
animistic language of the day ; and yet he could not avoid 
the use of this language, except at the cost of making 
himself unintelligible. This difficulty may well have 

1 Those spiritual purists who insist that absolute truths, such as anatta 
(non-egoity), and neti, neti (not so, not so) ought alone to be taught, 
and who despise all theological and aesthetic interpretation of these 
realities as false, should consider the saying of Master Kassapa : " Moral 
and virtuous Wanderers and Brahmans do not force maturity on that 
which is unripe; they, being wise, wait for that maturity." — Payasi 
Sutta, Dialogues of the Buddha, ii, 332. 

2 Bhagavad Gita, iii, 29. 

I05 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

contributed to the hesitation which he felt in regard to the 
preaching of the gospel. The method he was forced to 
adopt, was to make use of the current phraseology, 
expanding and emphasizing in his own way, and 
employing well-known words in new uses. 
We have therefore to guard ourselves, as Buddhaghosha 
says, from supposing that the manner of stating the case 
exactly expresses the fact. The term Samsara is a case 
in point ; for this ' Wandering ' is not for Gautama the 
wandering of any thing. Buddhism nowhere teaches 
the transmigration of souls, but only the transmigration 
of character, of personality without a person. 
Many are the similes employed by Gautama to show that 
no thing transmigrates from one life to another. The 
ending of one life and the beginning of another, indeed, 
hardly differ in kind from the change that takes place 
when a boy becomes a man — that also is a transmigration, 
a wandering, a new becoming. 

Among the similes most often used We find that of flame 
especially convenient. Life is a flame, and transmigration, 
new becoming, rebirth, is the transmitting of the flame 
from one combustible aggregate to another; just that, 
and nothing more. If we light one candle from another, 
the communicated flame is one and the same, in the sense 
of an observed continuity, but the candle is not the same. 
Or, again, we could not offer a better illustration, if a 
modern instance be permitted, than that of a series of 
billiard balls in close contact : if another ball is rolled 
against the last stationary ball, the moving ball will stop 
dead, and the foremost stationary ball will move on. Here 
precisely is Buddhist transmigration : the first moving 
ball does not pass over, it remains behind, it dies ; but it 
is undeniably the movement of that ball, its momentum, 
1 06 



Samsara and Kamma 

its kamma, and not any newly created movement, which 
is reborn in the foremost ball. Buddhist reincarnation is 
the endless transmission of such an impulse through an 
endless series of forms ; Buddhist salvation is the coming 
to understand that the forms, the billiard balls, are 
compound structures subject to decay, and that nothing 
is transmitted but an impulse, a vis a tergo, dependent 
on the heaping up of the past. It is a man's character, 
and not himself, that goes on. 

It is not difficult to see why Gautama adopted the current 
doctrine of kamma (action, by thought, word, or deed). 
In its simplest form, this doctrine merely asserts that 
actions are inevitably followed by their consequences, 
1 as a cart a horse.' So far as the experience of one life 
goes, it is simply the law of cause and effect, with this 
addition, that these causes are heaped up in character, 
whereby the future behaviour of the individual is very 
largely determined. 

Kamma must not be confused with mechanical pre- 
destination. It does not eliminate responsibility nor 
invalidate effort : it merely asserts that the order of 
nature is not interrupted by miracles. It is evident that 
I must lie on the bed I have made. I cannot effect a 
miracle, and abolish the bed at one blow ; I must reap as 
* I ' have sown, and the recognition of this fact I call 
kamma. It is equally certain that my own present efforts 
repeated and well directed will in course of time bring 
into existence another kind of bed, and the recognition of 
this fact I also call kamma. So far, then, from inhibiting 
effort, the doctrine of kamma teaches that no result can 
be attained without 'striving hard.' There is indeed 
nothing more essential to the Buddhist discipline than 
4 Right Effort.' 

107 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

If we combine the doctrine of kamma with that of samsara, 
' deeds ' with ' wandering,' kamma represents a familiar 
truth — the truth that the history of the individual does 
not begin at birth. " Man is born like a garden ready 
planted and sown." 

Before I was born out of my mother gene7'ations 

guided me. . . . 
Now on this spot I stand. 

This heredity is thinkable in two ways. The first way, 
the truth of which is undeniable, represents the action of 
past lives on present ones ; * the second, which may or 
may not be true, represents the action of a single con- 
tinuous series of past lives on a single. present life. The 
Buddhist theory of kamma plus samsara does not differ 
from its Brahmanical prototype in adopting the second 
view. This may have been because of its pragmatic 
advantage in the explanation of apparent natural in- 
justice ; for it affords a reasonable answer to the question, 
"Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born 

1 That the human individual is polypsychic, that an indefinite number 
of streams of consciousness coexist in each of us which can be variously 
and in varying degrees associated or dissociated is now a doctrine 
widely accepted even by "orthodox psychology." 

G. W. Balfour, Hibbert Journal^ No. 43. 

The same thought is expressed more Buddhistically by Lafcadio Hearn : 
" For what is our individuality ? Most certainly it is not individuality at 
all ; it is multiplicity incalculable. What is the human body ? A form 
built up out of billions of living entities, an impermanent agglomeration 
of individuals called cells. And the human soul? A composite of 
quintillions of souls. We are, each and all, infinite compounds of 
fragments of anterior lives." In the Psalm of Ananda : "a congeries 
diseased, teeming with many purposes and places, and yet in whom 
there is no power to persist." 
108 



Samsara and Kamma 

blind ? " The Indian theory replies without hesitation, 
this man. 

Buddhism, however, does not explain in what way a 
continuity of cause and effect is maintained as between 
one life a and a subsequent life b, which are separated by 
the fact of physical death; the thing is taken for granted. 1 
Brahmanical schools avoid this difficulty by postulating 
an astral or subtle body (the linga-sarira), a material 
complex, not the Atman, serving as the vehicle of mind 
and character, and not disintegrated with the death of the 
physical body. In other words, we have a group, of body, 
soul, and spirit ; where the two first are material, complex 
and phenomenal, while the third is * not so, not so.' 
That which transmigrates, and carries over kamma from 
one life a to another life b, is the soul or subtle body 
(which the Vedanta entirely agrees with Gautama in 
defining as non-Atman). It is this subtle body which 
forms the basis of a new physical body, which it moulds 
upon itself, effecting as it were a spiritualistic 'mate- 
rialization ' which is maintained throughout life. The 
principle is the same wherever the individual is reborn, 
in heaven or purgatory or on earth. 

In this view, though it is not mentioned by Buddhists, 2 
there is nothing contrary to Buddhist theory. The 
validity of the dogma of non-eternal-soul remains un- 
challenged by the death survival of personality ; for that 
survival could not prove that the personality constitutes 

1 Vide T. W. Rhys Davids, Early Buddhism, p. 78. 

2 Vide T. W. Rhys Davids, Ibid. p. 78. That the theory of the subtle 
body is not mentioned accords with Gautama's general objection 
to the discussion of eschatology. It is, however, a tribute to the value 
of Buddhist thought, that even the proof of the survival of the person 
would not affect the central doctrine of the soul's complexity and 
phenomenal character. 

IO9 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

an eternal unity, nor can it prove that anything at all 
survived the attainment of Nibbana. We may indeed 
say that Buddhism, notably in the Jatakas, takes the 
survival of personality (up to the time of attaining 
Nibbana) for granted ; and were it otherwise, there 
would be little reason for the strong Buddhist objection 
to suicide, which is based on the very proper ground that 
it needs something more powerful than a dose of poison 
to destroy the illusion of I and Mine. To accomplish 
that requires the untiring effort of a strong will. 

III. BUDDHIST HEAVENS AND HOW TO 
REACH THEM 

Gautama has not denied the existence of gods or of 
future states of existence in heavens or hells. Buddhism 
is atheistic only in the sense that it denies the existence 
of a First Cause, and emphasizes the conception of the 
mortality of all divine beings, however long-lived they 
may be supposed to be. Apart from this, Gautama is 
represented as not merely acquiescing in popular beliefs, 
but as speaking of his own intercourse with the gods and 
visits to their heavens; and, still more important, all 
those spiritual exercises which do not lead directly to 
Nibbana are specially commended as securing the lesser, 
but still very desirable, fruits of re-birth, in the lower 
heavens, or in the Brahma-worlds of Form or No- 
form. In all this, moreover, there is nothing illogical to 
the spirit of the Dhamma, which insists on the law of 
Becoming, but does not necessarily exclude the possibility 
of other modes of Becoming than those familiar in our 
order of experience. Spiritualism, in other words, while 
quite unessential to early Buddhism, does not in any way 
contradict the Dhamma. 
no 



Buddhist Heavens and How to Reach Them 



A riipa-lokas.ox 
Planes of No- 
form. 



The four highest heavens, free from 
sensuous desire and not conditioned 
by form. These heavens are attained 
by practice of the Four Aiupa 
Jhanas. 
Rilpa-lokas, or /The sixteen heavens free from sen- 
Planes ofl suous desire but conditioned by 
Form. J form. These heavens are attained 

I by practice of the Four Jhanas, 
/ iParanimitta-vasavatti 

gods. 
Nimmana rati gods. 
Tusita heaven (where 
Gautama Buddha re- 
sided previous to his 
last birth and where 
Metteya now awaits 
his last birth). 
Yama gods. 
Tavatimsa heaven 
(where reside the 
Thirty-three gods and 
their chief Sakka). 1 
The Four Great Kings 
(Guardians of the 
Four Quarters, N., 
S., E., and W.). 
The five worlds of men, demons, 
k ghosts, animals, and purgatory. 
1 A hundred of our years make one day and night of the Gods of the 
Suite of the Thirty-three ; thirty such days and nights their month ; 
and twelve such months their year. And the length of their lives 
is a thousand such celestial years, or in human reckoning, thirty-six 
million years. — Pdyasi Sutta. 

Ill 



Kama-lokas, or 
Planes of Sen- 
suous Desire 
(these are also 
R up a-lo kas 
but are not 
Brahmalokas) 



The six Kama- 
vacara deva- 
lokas. These 
heavens are 
attained by 
the merit of 
good works. 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

The chief of the gods who are commonly spoken of in the 
Suttas, are Sakka and Brahma. 1 Sakka, as it were, is 
king of the Olympians, ' the Jupiter of the multitude,' and 
is more or less to be identified with the Indra of popular 
Brahmanism. Greater than Sakka and more spiritually 
conceived, is Brahma, the supreme overlord of orthodox 
Brahman theology in the days of the Buddha. Both of 
these divinities are represented in the Suttas as converts 
to the Dhamma of the Buddha, who is the 'teacher of 
gods and men.' A whole group of Suttas has to do with 
the conversion and exhortation of these gods, and these 
Suttas are evidently designed to make it appear that the 
Brahman gods are really on the side of Gautama, and to 
this end they are made to speak as enlightened and 
devout Buddhists. 

The Buddhist cosmogony though related to the Brah- 
manical, is nevertheless peculiar to itself in detail, and 
deserves some attention. It will be better understood 
from the table on page 1 1 1 than by a lengthy description. 
The most essential and the truest part of this cosmogony 
however (and the only part which is dwelt upon in the 
more profound passages of early Buddhist scripture), 
is the three-fold division into the Planes of Desire, the 
Brahma Planes conditioned by Form, and the Brahma 
Planes unconditioned by Form. There is a profound truth 
concealed even in the mythological idea of the possibility 
of visiting the Brahma worlds while yet living on earth. 
Does not he rise above the Plane of Desire who in aesthetic 
contemplation is "aus sick selbst entrilckt ? " 2 does not 
the geometrician also know the Brahma Planes of Form? 
There are phases of experience that can carry us further. 

1 The impersonal Brahman is unknown to Buddhist dialectic. 

2 Goethe, Faust, ii, p. 258. 
112 



Buddhist Heavens &> How to Reach Them 

M. Poincare* writes of the mathematician Hermite: 
" Jamais il riivoquait une image sensible \ et pourtant 
vous vous aperceviez bientot que les entitis les plus abstraites 
e'taient pour lui comme des itres vivants. II ne les voyait 
pas, mais il sentait qu'elles ne sont pas un assemblage 
artificiel, et qu^elles out je ne sais quel principe d'uniti 
interne." x Does not Keats, moreover, refer to the 
Brahma Plane unconditioned by Form, when he writes 
in one of his letters : " There will be no space, and conse- 
quently the only commerce between spirits will be by 
their intelligence of each other — when they will completely 
understand each other, while we, in this world, merely 
comprehend each other in different degrees " ? If it 
be true that he who does not attain to Nibbana here and 
now is reborn in some other world — and this is taken for 
granted in early Buddhism — then what is more reasonable 
than to suppose that those who cultivate here on earth 
those states of mind which we have indicated, viz. the 
states of self-absorption in the contemplation of beauty or 
of ideal form, or in the most abstract thought, are reborn 
in those worlds which they have so often visited ? This 
consideration is maintained as follows in the Tevijja 
Sutta : 

1 La Valeur de la Science. Mrs Rhys Davids notices the apparent 
absence of music in the higher Buddhist heavens {Buddhist Psychology, 
p. xlv) ; but where form must be replaced by ' high fetches of abstract 
thought,' there also music may be silent, and may not need those 
articulated instruments which are used in the lower heavens of sense. 
"Pythagoras . . . did not say that the movements of the heavenly 
bodies made an audible music, but that it was itself a music . . . supra- 
sensible" — (Schelling) ; " There the whole sky is filled with sound, and 
there that music is made without fingers and without strings" — (Kablr). 
There also, and in the same way, exists eternally the Veda or Dhamma 
which is only ' heard ' in lower worlds. 

H II 3 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

Having described the Four Sublime Moods, Gautama 
asks : 

" Now what think you, Vasettha, will the Bhikkhu who 
thus lives be in possession of women and of wealth, or 
will he not?" 
<* He will not, Gautama ! " 
" Will he be full of anger, or free from anger? " 
" He will be free from anger, Gautama ! " 
" Will his mind be full of malice, or free from malice ? " 
" Free from malice, Gautama ! " 
" Will his mind be tarnished, or pure ? " 
" It will be pure, Gautama ! " 
" Will he have self-mastery, or will he not ? " 
"Surely he will, Gautama! " 

" Then you say, Vasettha, that the Bhikkhu is free from 
household and worldly cares, and that Brahma is free 
from household and worldly cares. Is there then agree- 
ment and likeness between the Bhikkhu and Brahma ? " 
"There is, Gautama!" 

"Very good, Vasettha. Then in sooth, Vasettha, that 
the Bhikkhu who is free from household cares should 
after death, when the body is dissolved, become united 
with Brahma, who is the same — such a condition of things 
is every way possible 1 " * 

We must not, however, suppose that the cultivation of the 
Four Sublime Moods by an ascetic, and according to the 
strict Buddhist formula, is the only means of attaining to 
union with Brahma. Buddhist scripture recognizes beside 
these ethical exercises other special conditions of intellect 
and emotion which are attained in the 'Four Jhanas,' 
and these practices, like those of the Four Sublime Moods, 
may be followed by householders as well as by ascetics. 
1 T. W. Rhys Davids, Dialogues of the Buddha, i, p. 318, 
II 4 



Nibbana 

If it should be proved, or come to be generally believed 
in the modern world that personality survives death — 
and is it reasonable to suppose that the accident of death 
should suffice to overcome the individual Will to Life ? 
— then some such classification of the heavens as is indi- 
cated in early Buddhist eschatology may well be used ; 
alternatively, we might speak of the three heavens of the 
Monist — Beauty, Love, and Truth. And we may well 
believe with the early Buddhists that those who shall 
reach these heavens are precisely those who have already 
experienced similar states of consciousness : the various 
ranks of artists, lovers, and philosophers. The self- 
devotion and self-forgetfulness of these must lead as 
surely as the Buddhist trances to the Brahma-worlds, 
on the principle that like to like attains. Equally 
with the Buddhist trances also, must the concentra- 
tion of the artist, lover and philosopher tend to final 
emancipation. 

IV. NIBBANA 

" The story admits of being told thus far, but what follows is 
hidden, and cannot be told in words."— -Jallaluddln Rumi. 

Nibbana is one of the many names for the goal and sum- 
mum bonum to which all other purposes of Buddhist 
thought converge. What are Moksha to the Brahman, 
the Tao to the Chinese mystic, Fana to the Sufi 
Eternal Life to the followers of Jesus, that is Nibbana 
to the Buddhist. To attain to this Nibbana, beyond the 
reach of Evil, is the single thought that moves the Budd- 
hist aspirant to enter on the Paths. Whoever would 
understand Buddhism, then, must seek to understand 
Nibbana : not, that is to say, to interpret it metaphysi- 
cally — for speculation is one of the Deadly Taints — but 

JI 5 



/■ 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

to understand its implications to an orthodox Buddhist 
and its meaning on the lips of Gautama. 
Unfortunately, the term Nibbana (in its Sanskrit form 
Nirvana) became familiar to European students long 
before the Buddhist scriptures had been made accessible; 
and the early western writers on Buddhism " interpreted 
Buddhism in terms of their own belief, as a state to be 
reached after death. As such they supposed the ' dying 
out ' must mean the dying out of ' a soul ' ; and endless 
were the discussions whether this meant eternal trance, or 
absolute annihilation of a soul." x How irrelevant was this 
discussion will be seen when we realize that Nibbana is a 
state to be realized here and now, and is recorded to have 
been attained by the Buddha at the beginning of his 
ministry, as well as by innumerable Arahats, his disciples ; 
and when we remember that Buddhism denies the existence 
of a soul, at any time, whether before or after death. 
In the Milinda Panka, Nibbana is compared to a "glorious 
city, stainless and undefiled, pure and white, ageless, 
deathless, secure, calm and happy"; and yet this city is 
very far from being a heaven to which good men attain 
after death : 

"There is no spot, O king, East, South, West or North, 
above, below or beyond, where Nibbana is situate, and yet 
Nibbana is; and he who orders his life aright, grounded 
in virtue, and with rational attention, may realize it, 
whether he live in Greece, China, Alexandria, or in 
Kosala." 

1 But the Milinda Panha also speaks (erroneously) of an Arahat as 
1 entering into ' Nibbana, saying that the layman who attains to Arahatta 
must either enter the Order or pass into Nibbana, the latter alternative 
here implying physical death (as in the case of Suddhodana, the father 
of Buddha, p. 48). 
Il6 



Nibbana 

He enters into this city who ' emancipates his mind in 
Arahatta.' 

The literal meaning of the word Nibbana is : * dying out,' 
or ' extinction,' as of a fire. 1 To understand its technical 
import we must call to mind the simile of flame so con- 
stantly employed in Buddhist thought: "The whole 
world is in flames," says Gautama. " By what fire is it 
kindled ? By the fire of lust (raga), of resentment (dosa), 
of glamour (moha) ; by the fire of birth, old age, death, 
pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief and despair it is kindled." 
The process of transmigration, the natural order of Be- 
coming, is the communication of this flame from one 
aggregate of combustible material to another. The 
salvation of the Arahat, the saint, then, is the dying 
down — Nibbana — of the flames of lust, hate, and glamour, 
and of the will to life. Nibbana is just this, and no more 
and no less. 

Nibbana (nirvana) is the only Buddhist term for salvation 
familiar to western readers, but it is only one of many that 
occur in the orthodox Buddhist scriptures. Perhaps the 
broadest term is Vimokhd, or Vimutti, ' salvation' or 

1 Other etymologies are possible : thus " It is called Nibbana, in that it 
is a ' de-parture ' from that craving which is called vana, lusting" — 
(Anuruddha, Compendium of Philosophy \ iv, 14). It is important to 
remember that the term Nirvana is older than Buddhism, and is one 
of the many words used by Gautama in a special sense. In the 
Upanishads it does not mean the dying out of anything, but rather 
perfect self-realization ; to those in whom the darkness of ignorance has 
been dispersed by perfect knowledge, ' as the highest goal there opens 
before them the eternal, perfect, Nirvanam' — (Chandogya Upanishad^ 
8, 15, 1). Buddhist usage emphasizes the strict etymological significance 
of 'dying out;' but even so, it is not the dying out of a soul or an indi- 
viduality, for no such thing exists, and therefore no such thing can die 
out ; it is only the passions (craving, resentment and delusion) that can 
die out. As to what remains, if anything, early Buddhism is silent. 

117 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

'deliverance,' and those who have attained this salvation 
are called Arahats, adept, whilst the state of adeptship is 
called Arahatta. Other terms and definitions include the 
' end of suffering,' the ' medicine for all evil,' ' living 
water,' the 'imperishable,' the 'abiding,' the 'ineffable,' 
the ' detachment,' the ' endless security.' 
The Nibbana of which we have so far spoken, it will be 
seen, is essentially ethical ; but this Nibbana involves, 
and is often used as a synonym for, 'the cessation of 
becoming ' ; x and this, of course, is the great desideratum, 
of which the ethical ' extinction ' is merely the means and 
the outward sign. Salvation (vimutti) has thus also a 
psychological aspect, of which the most essential element 
is the release from individuality. Thus we find defined 
the following Eight Stations of Deliverance : (i) Having 
oneself external form, one sees forms ; (2) unaware of one's 
own external form, one sees forms external to oneself; 
(3) aesthetic hypnosis ; (4) abiding in the sphere of space 
regarded as infinite ; (5) abiding in the sphere of cognition 
regarded as infinite ; (6) abiding in the sphere of nothing- 
ness; (7) abiding in the sphere of neither ideation nor 
non-ideation; and (8) abiding in the state where both 
sensations and ideas have ceased to be. 2 
Another way to realize the practical connotation of the 
Buddhist Nibbana, is to consider the witness of those 
Arahats who, beside Gautama, have attained thereto. 
Two of Gautama's disciples are said to have testified as 
follows : " Lord, he who is Arahant, who . . . has won 
his own salvation, has utterly destroyed the fetters of 

1 Samyutta Nikdya, ii, 115. 

2 Maha Nidana Sutta, 35 ; Mahaparinibbana Sutta, 33. The 
4th- 7 th stations are identical with the Four Arupa Jhanas by which 
the Formless heavens are attained — see pp. in, 147. 

Il8 



Nibbana 

becoming, who is by perfect wisdom emancipate, to him 
there does not occur the thought that any are better than 
/, or equal to me, or less than /." " Even so," answered 
Gautama, " do men of the true stamp declare the gnosis 
they have attained ; they tell what they have gained (attha), 
but do not speak of I (atta)" 1 The emancipation con- 
templated in early Buddhism is from mana, the conceit 
of self-reference, the Samkhyan ahamkara. Of him that 
has attained we can truly say that nothing of himself is 
left in him. Thus we find a dialogue of two disciples ; 
one has a serene and radiant expression, and the other 
asks, "Where have you been this day, O Sariputta?" 
" I have been alone, in first Jhana (contemplation), 
brother," is the triumphant answer, "and to me there 
never came the thought: '/ am attaining it; / have 
emerged with it I ' " a 

For the effect on life of the experience of Nibbana, we 
have the witness of the Brethren and Sisters whose 
' Psalms ' are recorded in the Thera-theri-gatha? To 
take the Brethren first : " Illusion utterly has passed from 
me," says one, " cool am I now; gone out all fire within." 
Another describes the easy movement of the life of the 
free: 
E'en as the high-bred steer with crested back lightly the 

plough adown the furrow turns, 
So lightly glide for me the nights and days, now that t/iis 

pure untainted bliss is won" 

1 Anguttara JVihaya, iii, 359. 

2 Samyutta Nikaya^ iii, 235. Cf the Sufi conception of Fana al-fana, 
'the passing away of passing away,' when even the consciousness 
of having attained fana disappears. 

3 Written down 80 B.C., and available to English readers in the careful 
and sympathetic versions of C. A. F. Rhys David6, Psalms of the 
Sisters^ 19 10, and Psalms of the Brethren^ 191 3. 

II 9 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

Perhaps the prevailing thought is a more or less rapturous 
delight in the escape from evil and from craving (dukkha 
and tanha), from lust, hate, and infatuation, and from 
the prospect of re-birth — of continued Becoming in any 
other conditioned life. From the standpoint of will, 
again, there is emphasis upon the achievement of freedom, 
self-mastery, and so forth. And the attainment is also 
expressed poetically — just as the Brahman in Brahmanical 
scripture is symbolized as 'bliss,' 'intelligence,' etc. — 
as light, truth, knowledge, happiness, calm, peace; but 
the similes are always cool, never suggesting any violent 
rapture or overmastering emotion. But while we recog- 
nize an unmistakable note of exultation in the conquest 
achieved here and now, we must also clearly recognize 
that orthodox Buddhist teaching is characterized by "the 
absence of all joy in the forward view; " * and, indeed, no 
mystic can look forward to greater bliss than has already 
been experienced : 2 to what more, indeed, can one who 
has already attained the summum bonum look forward, 
or what can the physical accident of death achieve for 
him who has already by his own effort reached the goal ? 
Gautama expressly refuses to answer any question relative 
to life after death, and he condemns all speculation 
as unedifying : "I have not," he says, addressing the 
venerable Malunkyaputta, who desired information on 
these points, " revealed that the Arahat exists after death, 
I have not revealed that he does not exist; I have not 
revealed that he at once exists and does not exist after 
death, nor that he neither exists nor does not exist after 

1 C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Psalms of the Brethren, 1913, p. xlviii. 

2 For : " Paradise is still upon earth — " (Behmen) : " When I go hence, 
may my last words be, that what I have seen is unsurpassable " (Tagore). 
There is nothing more to be desired. 

I20 



Nibbana 

death. And why, Malunkyaputta, have I not revealed 

these things? Because, O Malunkyaputta, this is not 

edifying, nor connected with the essence of the norm, nor 

tend to turning of the will, to the absence of passion, to 

cessation, rest, to the higher faculties, to supreme wisdom, 

nor to Nibbana ; therefore have I not revealed it." 1 The 

early Arahats, refraining loyally from speculation, might 

have concurred with Emerson in saying : " Of immortality 

the soul, when well employed, is incurious. It is so well 

that it is sure it will be well. ,, 

It is most explicitly indicated that the state of Nibbana 

cannot be discussed : 

As a flame blown to and fro by the wind, says the 

Buddha, goes out and cannot be registered, even so a 

Sage, set free from name and form, has disappeared, and 

cannot be registered. 

The disciple inquires : Has he then merely disappeared, 

or does he indeed no longer exist ? 

For him who has disappeared, says the Buddha, there 

is no form ; that by which they say ' He is ' exists for 

him no more ; when all conditions are cut off, all matter 

for discussion is also cut off. 2 

Or again : 

As thefery sparks from a forge are one by one 
extinguished. 

And no one knows where they have gone \ . . . 

So it is with those who have attained to com- 
plete emancipation. 

Who have crossed the flood of desire > 

Who have entered upon the calm delight. 

Of these no trace remains. 

1 Majjhima Nikaya^ Sutta 63. 

2 Sutta^iipata,) 1073-5. 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

On this account they are sometimes compared to the 
birds of the air, whose path is hard to follow, because 
they leave no trace. 1 

Let us return to the meaning of Nibbana or Vimutti as 
it applies to the still living Arahat. The Arahat and the 
Buddha have alike attained Nibbana or Vimutti, and 
are Vimutto ; are we to understand that this state is 
continuously maintained from the moment of enlighten- 
ment to the moment of death ? If so, what is it that 
maintains life in the delivered being? This question 
arises equally in the Vedanta. The usual answer is that 
the momentum of antecedent kamma suffices to carry on 
the individual life even after the ' Will to Life ' has 
ceased, and this is expressed in the brilliant simile of 
the potter's wheel, which continues to turn for some time 
after the hand of the potter is removed. In any case it is 
evident that the freedom of the Arahat or Jivan-mukta 
does not involve an immediate and permanent eman- 
cipation from mortality : the Buddha, for example, though 
he had long since attained Perfect Enlightenment, is 
recorded to have suffered from severe illness, and to have 
been aware of it. It is, no doubt, considerations of this 
sort which determined the distinction which was some- 
times drawn between Nibbana, or ' Dying Out,' and 
Parinibbana, ' Complete or Final Dying Out,' coincident 
with physical death. 

The Arahat has, indeed, passed through an experience 
which illumines all his remaining life : he knows things 
as they really are, and is saved from fear and grief : he 
has realized, if but for an instant, the Abyss, wherein all 
Becoming is not. He is satisfied of the authenticity of 
the experience by the very fact that the thought * I am 
1 Dhammapada^ v. 92. 

122 



Nibbana 

experiencing, I have experienced* was not present. But 
the mere fact that he knows that he has had this ex- 
perience, and may have it again — may even command it 
at will — proves that he does not continuously realize it. 
It is contrary, moreover, to all spiritual experience — and 
we must protest strongly against the Buddhist claim that 
the Buddhist experience of salvation is unique — that the 
highest rapture should be regarded as consciously coexistent 
with the ordinary activity of the empirical consciousness, 
even where the daily routine of life is so simple as that 
of the Buddhist Brother. And in Buddhist scriptures 
it is frequently indicated that both the Buddha and the 
Brethren pass into and out from the highest rapture. At 
other times the empirical consciousness must be awake — 
and, indeed, this consciousness, being component and 
mutable, cannot, as such, be ' set free.' Experience 
therefore suggests that while Nibbana is most assuredly 
accessible here and now — as the mystics of all ages have 
emphatically testified — a continuous realization of salva- 
tion is only thinkable after death. And, as the Buddha 
says, what that realization involves is not thinkable. 
Later Buddhism affords another explanation of the fact 
that we cannot regard Nibbana or Vimutti in this life as 
an uninterrupted experience. This explanation, which is 
akin to the Docetic heresy of Christianity, logically well 
founded, asserts that the emancipated individual — the 
case of the Buddha is particularly considered in a system 
which regards Buddhahood rather than Arahatta as the 
goal — is once and for all freed : and what remains, the 
living and speaking man on earth, is merely a mirage, 
existent in the consciousness of others, but not maintained 
by any inherent Will to Life — it is once more, the potter's 
wheel, from which the hand of the potter has been lifted. 

123 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

There is a certain amount of evidence tending to show 
that the Nibbana or Vimutti state affords the franchise 
of both worlds, the Byss as well as the Abyss. We read, 
for example, that when a Brother has mastered the Eight 
Stations of Deliverance " so that he is able to lose 
himself in, as well as to emerge from, any one of them, 
whenever he chooses, wherever he chooses, and for 
as long as he chooses — when too by rooting out the 
Taints, he enters into and abides in that emancipation of 
heart, that emancipation of the intellect which he by 
himself, here in this present world, has come to know 
and realize — then such a Brother, Ananda, is called 
' Free-in-both-ways.' 9il Unfortunately we cannot here 
take " Free-in-both-ways " to mean " free of both worlds " 
— the conditioned and the unconditioned — for the phrase 
clearly refers to the dual character of Deliverance as at 
once psychological and ethical. But it is, nevertheless, 
indicated that the adept Brother is free to pass from one 
world to the other, from the Byss to the Abyss, and the 
Abyss to the Byss at will : and we can hardly suppose 
that physical death involves the loss of this power : or if 
we do so, we have immediately drawn a distinction 
between Nibbana of the living individual, and Nibbana 
of the dead — and the latter becomes the more limited, 
the less free. And that the Vimutta consciousness after 
the death of the individual — or rather, altogether apart 
from the birth or death of the individual — really touches 
both the Byss and the Abyss, as Brahmanical mysticism 
plainly asserts, is at any rate not denied by the Buddha. 
We even find it laid down that " To say of a Brother 
thus set free by insight — ' He knows not, he sees not ' — 
that were absurd ! " 2 In other words, it is clear, the 

1 Maha-Nidana Suita, 36. 2 Ibid. 32. 

124 



Nibbana 

emancipated * individual,' after death, does not cease ' to 
know things as they really are ' : the doors of perception 
being cleansed, he must continue to see all things as they 
are, infinite — or to revert to Buddhist phraseology, as 
void. There is however no individual who ' sees,' for 
the erstwhile individual is likewise infinite or void : 
subject and object are unified in the Abyss. Thus once 
again, we cannot set up a final distinction between the 
positive and negative phraseology of mysticism. What 
is in any case certain is that the Buddhist (and Brah- 
manical) use of negatives does not imply that the state 
of freedom involves a loss for those who find it. For 
Western readers the language of Western mystics 
should be a sufficient indication of what is meant : 
Nibbana is assuredly * that noble Pearl, which to the 
World appears Nothing, but to the Children of Wisdom 
is All Things? Precisely what Nibbana signifies 
in early Buddhism, and Nirvana in the Mahayana, 
could not be more exactly explained than in the first 
and second of the following paragraphs of Behmen's 
Dialogues : 

" Lastly, whereas I said, Whosoever finds it finds Nothing 
and all Things ; that is also certain and true. But how 
finds he Nothing*? Why, I will tell thee how He that 
findeth it findeth a supernatural, supersensual Abyss, 
which hath no ground or Byss to stand on, and where 
there is no place to dwell in ; and he findeth also nothing 
is like unto it and therefore it may fitly be compared to 
Nothing, for it is deeper than any Thing, and it is as 
Nothing with respect to All Things, forasmuch as it is 
not comprehensible by any of them. And because it is 
Nothing respectively, it is therefore free from All Things, 
and is that only Good, which a man cannot express or 

125 



Buddha ftP the Gospel of Buddhism 

utter what it is, there being Nothing to which it may be 
compared, to express it by. 

"But in that I lastly said: Whosoever finds it finds All 
Things \ there is nothing can be more true than this 
assertion. It hath been the Beginning of All Things ; 
and it ruleth All Things. It is also the End of All 
Things ; and will thence comprehend All Things within 
its circle. All Things are from it, and in it, and by 
it. If thou findest it thou comest into that ground 
from whence All Things are proceeded, and wherein 
they subsist ; and thou art in it a King over all the 
works of God." 

V. ETHICS 

" Let not a brother occupy himself with busy works." 

Theragdthd, 1072. 

In considering the subject of Buddhist morality, we can- 
not, in the first place, too strongly emphasize the fact that 
it was no more the purpose of Gautama than of Jesus to 
establish order in the world. 1 Nothing could have been 
further from his thoughts than the redress of social in- 
justice, nor could any more inappropriate title be devised 
for Him-who-has-thus-attained, than that of democrat or 
social reformer. A wise man, says the Dhammapada^ 
should leave the dark state of life in the world and follow 
the bright state of life as a monk. 2 

1 Dhammapada, v, 412. The Buddhist, like the Tolstoyan Christian, 
has no faith in government. We read of spiritual lessons for princes, 
but the ' road of political wisdom ' is called ' an unclean path of false- 
ness ' (Jdtakamdld, xix, 2 7). The point is further illustrated in Gautama's 
refusal to intervene when the message is brought that Devadatta has 
usurped the throne of Kapilavatthu (supra, p. 32). 

2 Ibid. 87, 88. 
126 



VII 

THE VICTORY OF BUDDHA 

Abanindro Nath Tagore 

Page 126 



Ethics 

Gautama's message is addressed to those in whom he 
perceived the potentiality of final insight already upon the 
point of ripening : for these he speaks the word of release 
from which arises the irresistible call to leave the world 
and to follow — Nibbana. " To the wise belongeth this 
Law, and not to the foolish : " for children and those who 
are like children (as Professor Oldenberg remarks) the 
arms of Buddha are not opened. It is not even just to 
Gautama to contrast his Dhamma — the Buddhist Norm 
— with the Dharmas which are assigned to men of diverse 
social status in the Brahmanical social order. In order 
to view his doctrine without prejudice we must concentrate 
our attention upon the Sangha, the Order, which he 
founded: we must compare his system, not with other 
religions, but with other monastic systems, and consider 
whether or no its mental and moral discipline is calculated 
to bestow on those who follow it, the salvation which they 
desired. For Gautama certainly did not believe that 
salvation could be attained in any other way, nor by Brethren 
of any other Order : for such as these and for the vast 
mass of laymen there could be only a question of rebirth 
in favourable or unfavourable conditions according to the 
moral value of their deeds. 1 

The early Buddhist ideal is not only far removed from 
what is immoral, but also, and not less far, from what is 
moral: it goes beyond these conceptions of good and 

1 Buddhism has much to say of the future state of those who die 
unsaved, not having cut off the conditions which determine rebirth. 
As it is expressed by Mrs Rhys Davids, " The mass of good average 
folk, going, with the patience and courage of all sane mortals, through 
stage after stage of green immaturity, through the joys and sorrows that 
have recurred and will recur so infinitely often, heaven and purgatory 
and earth itself await their future." 

I27 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

evil, for even good deeds, after the judgment of the 
world, determine rebirth : verily, they have their reward. 
"And ye, Brethren," says Gautama, "learn by the 
parable of the raft that ye must put away good conditions, 
not to speak of bad." The good is but the raft that 
carries us across the dangerous sea; he that would land 
upon the farther shore must leave the raft when it touches 
the strand. To realize this truth however detracts in 
no way from a realization of the present value of the 
raft. 

This is a 'Religion of Eternity' — the Brahmanical ni- 
vritti marga — and as such could be legitimately spoken of 
as anti-social, if it were in the least degree likely or had 
it been contemplated that it should or could be adopted 
in its entirety by all. Such religions, while they embody 
the highest truth to which mankind has attained, are only 
to be criticized as puritanical in so far as their followers 
seek to impose an ascetic regime (rather than one of 
temperance) on all alike ; in so far as their view of art is 
exclusively hedonistic; and their view of worship and 
ritual wholly unsympathetic. 

There is much to be said for the Brahmanical doctrine 
of the social debt, and for the view that a man 
should retire from the world only late in life, and 
only after taking due part in the life of the world. 
Nevertheless we must affirm the conviction that the 
renunciation of the world, at any moment, by those 
who experience the vocation to asceticism, is entirely 
justifiable, if the vocation be real. It is, further, a posi- 
tive social and moral advantage to the community that a 
certain number of its finest minds, leading a life that may 
be called sheltered, should remain unattached to social 
activities and unbound by social ties. Too much stress 
128 



Ethics 

is laid upon * utility ' in communities where neither reli- 
gieux nor women are * protected.' And notwithstanding 
that it is not the purpose of the hermit to establish order 
in the world, let us remember that the onlooker sees most 
of the game ; it is not without reason that it has become 
an established tradition of the East that the ruler should 
be guided by the sage. The example of asceticism, 
moreover, where this asceticism is natural and effortless, 
provides a useful corrective to luxury; where voluntary 
poverty is highly respected, some part of the suffering 
involved in ordinary poverty is taken away. To this 
day, the Indian Brahman ideal of plain living and 
social discipline strongly influences the manners and 
customs of all other castes; and the same result is 
attained by Buddhist monasticism in Burma, where it 
is customary, not merely for life ascetics, for all men 
of whatever calling, to spend a shorter or longer time 
within the fold of the Order. 

Most likely the root of the objection which many feel for 
monastic ideals of the Buddhist type is to be found in the 
' selfishness ' of their aim, or to put the matter in another 
way, in the laying of stress on Knowledge, rather than 
Love. But let us remember that most and maybe all of 
our * unselfishness ' is a delusion. 

No one can grow for another — not one. 

The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him — it 

cannot fail, 
And no man understands any greatness or goodness but 

his own, or the indication of his own. 

Let us also remember that pity no more could be, if all 
were as happy as ye : and just this happiness is promised 
to all who are prepared to relinquish desire, resentment, 

I 129 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

and sentimentality. We must not forget that it was a 
recognized duty of the Brethren, and sometimes of the 
Sisters, to preach the Dhamma ; and who will put forward 
the assertion that man shall live by bread alone ? Accord- 
ing to the Edict of Asoka, "There is no such almsgiving 
as is the almsgiving of the Dhamma." This was equally 
the view of so practical a Western mind as Cromwell's, whose 
first extant letter (as Mr Vincent Smith has pointed out) 
supplies a near parallel to the saying of Asoka just quoted : 
" Building of hospitals," he writes, "provides for men's 
bodies ; to material temples is judged a work of piety ; but 
they that procure spiritual food, they that build up spiritual 
temples, they are the men truly charitable, truly pious." 
It is most likely that the earliest Buddhism had no other 
moral code than that of the mental and moral discipline 
appointed for those who renounced the world and entered 
the Paths. The following Ten Commandments are those 
which are binding upon the Brethren : 
To avoid (i) the destruction of life, (2) theft, (3) un- 
chastity, (4) lying, (5) the use of intoxicating liquors, 
(6) eating between meals, (7) attending secular entertain- 
ments, (8) use of unguents and jewellery, (9) the use of 
high or luxurious beds, and (iq) the handling of money. 
Those who attached themselves to the teaching of the 
Brethren, but remained laymen, were required to obey 
the first five of these injunctions — all of which, it will be 
noticed, are of a negative character; but in the case of 
laymen, the third commandment is taken to mean only 
the avoidance of adultery. 

Practically all these rules are taken over from Brahmanic 
sources. This is more particularly evident in other 
passages of the canonical books where lay morality is 
expounded in greater detail. When matters are referred 
130 



Ethics 

to Gautama for his decision, or to the Brethren, the deci- 
sion given evidently accords with current public opinion ; 
marriage and family life are not directly attacked, it is 
merely pointed out that the secular life does not lead 
to emancipation from rebirth and suffering. 1 We have 
indeed in some books a detailed exposition of the mutual 
duties of children and parents, man and wife, master and 
servant. These injunctions lay down just those duties 
which are acknowledged in the Brahmanical works, and 
indicate a blameless mode of life, where special stress is 
laid on not injuring others, support of parents, and the 
giving of alms to the Brethren. This is the next best 
condition to that of the Wanderer, who is a member of 
the Order, and * homeless.' The duties of laymen are set 
forth in the Sigalavdda Sutta under six heads : parents 
should restrain their children from vice, train them in 
virtue, have them taught arts and sciences, provide them 
with suitable wives or husbands, and give them their 
inheritance: children should support those who have 
supported them, perform family duties, guard their parents' 
property, make themselves worthy to be their heirs, and 
finally honour their memory. Pupils should honour their 
teachers by rising in their presence, by ministering to 
them, by obeying them, by supplying their wants, and by 
attention to instruction ; the teacher should show affection 

1 But the superiority of the homeless life is again and again emphasized, 
e.g. "Full of hindrances is the household life, a path denied by 
passion : free as air is the path of him who has renounced all worldly 
things. How difficult it is for the man who dwells at home to live the 
higher life in all its fulness, in all its purity, in all its bright perfection ! 
Let me then cut off my hair and beard, let me clothe myself in the 
orange-coloured robes, and let me go forth from a household life into 
the homeless state." — Tevijja Sutta. " It is easy to obtain righteous- 
ness in the forest, but not so for a householder."— Jatakamala of Arya 
Siira } xxxii. 

131 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

for his pupils by training them in all that is good, teaching 
them to hold knowledge fast, instructing them in science 
and lore, speaking well of them, and by guarding them 
from danger. The husband should treat his wife with 
respect and kindness, be faithful to her, cause her to be 
honoured by others, and give her suitable clothes and 
jewels : she should order the household duly, be hospitable 
to kinsmen and friends, be chaste and thrifty, and in 
all matters exhibit skill and diligence. A man should 
minister to his friends by presents, courteous speech, 
promote their interests, treat them as equals, and share 
with them his prosperity; they should watch over him 
when he is off his guard, protect his property when he is 
careless, offer him a refuge in danger, adhere to him in 
misfortune, and show kindness to his family. The master 
should care for his dependents by apportioning their work 
according to their strength, giving suitable food and 
wages, tending them in sickness, sharing with them unusual 
delicacies, and giving them occasional holidays; they 
should rise before him, retire later to rest, be content 
with what is given them, work cheerfully and well, and 
speak well of him. A layman should minister to Bhikkhus 
and to Brahmans by affection in thought, word, and deed, 
by giving them a ready welcome, and by supplying their 
temporal needs ; and they should dissuade him from vice, 
exhort him to virtue, feel kindly to him, instruct him in 
religion, clear up his doubts, and point the way to heaven. 
" And by thus acting the six airts (N.,S.,E.,W., Zenith, and 
Nadir) are preserved in peace and free from danger." 
We may also remark of the Brethren and Sisters, that 
though the practice of good works is by no means 
enjoined, they were constantly engaged with what we 
should now call moral education, and to a considerable 
132 



Ethics 

extent, and more so in later times, with education and 
learning in general. On the whole, it can hardly be 
controverted that Buddhist monasticism has been a true 
benefit to every country where it has been introduced, 
and that in India also Buddhism as a whole contributed 
valuable and specific elements to the permanent improve- 
ment of current standards of social ethics. 
It will be a useful commentary on the present section to 
append the following quotation descriptive of popular 
morality in Buddhist Ceylon, where the social influence 
of early Buddhism may fairly be credited with a con- 
siderable part of popular culture : 

" There is annually a gathering from all parts of the 
Island at Anuradhapura to visit what are called sacred 
places. I suppose about 20,000 people come here, 
remain for a few days, and then leave. There are no 
houses for their reception, but under the grand umbrage 
of trees of our park-like environs they erect their little 
booths and picnic in the open air. As the height of the 
festival approaches, the place becomes instinct with life ; 
and when there is no room left to camp in, the later 
comers unceremoniously take possession of the verandas 
of the public buildings. So orderly is their conduct, 
however, that no one thinks of disturbing them. The 
old Kacceri (Government Office) stands, a detached 
building not far from the bazaar, and about one-eighth 
of a mile from the Assistant-Agent's house. Till lately 
the treasure used to be lodged in a little iron box that 
a few men could easily run away with, guarded by three 
native treasury watchers. There lay this sum of money, 
year after year, at the mercy of any six men who chose 
to run with it into the neighbouring jungle — once in 
detection was almost impossible — and yet no one ever 

133 



Buddha Sf the Gospel of Buddhism 

supposed the attempt would be made. These 20,000 
men from all parts of the country come and go annually 
without a single policeman being here; and, as the 
Magistrate of the district, I can only say that any to 
surpass their decorum and sobriety of conduct it is 
impossible to conceive. Such a thing as a row 
is unheard of." — Report of the Government Agent, 
Anuradhapura, Ceylon, 1870. 

To this we may add the testimony of Knox, who was 
a prisoner in the interior of Ceylon late in the seventeenth 
century. He says that the proverb, Take a ploughman 
from the plough, and wash off his dirt, and he is fit to rule 
a kingdom, " was spoken of the people of Cande Uda . . . 
because of the civility, understanding, and gravity of the 
poorest among them." Their ordinary ploughmen, he 
adds, and husbandmen, " do speak elegantly, and are full 
of complement. And there is no difference between the 
ability and speech of a Countryman and a Courtier." 
But perhaps the best idea of the ethical consequences of 
Buddhist modes of thought will be gathered from the 
following Japanese criticism of Western Industrialism, 
originally published in the Japan Daily Mail (1890) by 
Viscount Torio, who was deeply versed in Buddhist 
philosophy, and also held high rank in the Japanese army : 
"Order or disorder in a nation does not depend upon 
something that falls from the sky or rises from the earth. 
It is determined by the disposition of the people. The 
pivot on which the public disposition turns is the point 
where public and private motives separate. If the people 
be influenced chiefly by public considerations, order is 
assured ; if by private, disorder is inevitable. Public 
considerations are those that prompt the proper observ- 
ance of duties. . . . Private considerations are those 
134 



Eth 



1CS 



suggested by selfish motives. ... To regard our family 
affairs with all the interest due to our family and our 
national affairs with all the interest due to the nation, this 
is to fitly discharge our duty, and to be guided by public 
considerations. . . . Selfishness is born in every man; 
to indulge it freely is to become a beast. Therefore it is 
that Sages preach the principles of duty and propriety, 
justice and morality, providing restraints for private aims 
and encouragement for public spirit. . . . What we 
know of Western civilization is that it struggles on 
through long centuries in a confused condition, and 
finally attained a state of some order; but that even 
this order, not being based upon such principles as those 
of the natural and immutable relations between sovereign 
and subject, parent and child, with all their correspond- 
ing rights and duties, is liable to constant change, 
according to the growth of human ambitions and human 
aims. Admirably suited to persons whose actions are 
controlled by selfish ambition, the adoption of this 
system in Japan is naturally sought by a certain class 
of politicians. From a superficial point of view, the 
Occidental form of society is very attractive, inasmuch 
as being the outcome of a free development of human 
desires from ancient times, it represents the very extreme 
of luxury and extravagance. Briefly speaking, the state 
of things obtaining in the West is based upon the free 
play of human selfishness, and can only be reached by 
giving full sway to that quality. Social disturbances are 
little heeded in the Occident; yet they are at once the 
evidences and the factors of the present evil state of 
affairs. ... In the Orient, from ancient times, national 
government has been based on benevolence, and directed 
to securing the welfare and happiness of the people. No 

135 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

political creed has ever held that intellectual strength 
should be cultivated for the purpose of exploiting 
inferiority and ignorance. . . . Now, to satisfy the 
needs of one luxurious man, the toil of a thousand is 
needed. Surely it is monstrous that those who owe to 
labour the pleasures suggested by their civilization 
should forget what they owe to the labourer, and treat 
him as if he were not a fellow being. But civilization, 
according to the Occident, serves only to satisfy men 
of large desires. It is of no benefit to the masses, but 
is simply a system under which ambitions compete to 
establish their aims. . . . That the Occidental system 
is gravely disturbing to the order and peace of a country 
is seen by men who have eyes, and heard by men who 
have ears. The future of Japan under such a system fills 
us with anxiety. A system based on the principle that 
ethics and religion are made to serve human ambition 
naturally accords with the wishes of selfish individuals; 
and such theories as those embodied in the modern 
formula of liberty and equality annihilate the established 
relations of society, and outrage decorum and propriety. 
... Absolute equality and absolute liberty being un- 
attainable, the limits prescribed by right and duty are 
supposed to be set. But as each person seeks to have 
as much right and to be burdened with as little duty as 
possible, the results are endless disputes and legal con- 
tentions. • . . It is plain that if the mutual rights 
of men and their status are made to depend on degrees 
of wealth, the majority of the people, being without 
wealth, must fail to establish their rights ; whereas the 
minority who are wealthy will assert their rights, and, 
under society's sanction, will exact oppressive duties 
from the poor, neglecting the dictates of humanity and 
136 



Conscience 

benevolence. The adoption of these principles of liberty 
and equality in Japan would vitiate the good and peaceful 
customs of our country, render the general disposition of 
the people harsh and unfeeling, and prove finally a source 
of calamity to the masses. . . . Though at first sight Occi- 
dental civilization presents an attractive appearance, 
adapted as it is to the gratification of selfish desires, yet, 
since its basis is the hypothesis that men's wishes con- 
stitute natural laws, it must ultimately end in disappoint- 
ment and demoralization. . . . Occidental nations have 
become what they are after passing through conflicts and 
vicissitudes of the most serious kind. . . • Perpetual 
disturbance is their doom. Peaceful equality can never 
be attained until built up among the ruins of annihilated 
Western States and the ashes of extinct Western peoples." 1 

VI. CONSCIENCE 

It has often been objected as against Buddhism that 
while its moral code is admirable, it provides no sanction, 
or no sufficient sanctions, for morality. And we may say 
at once, that since the ' individual ' does not exist, there 
can be no question of reward or punishment for the 
individual, and therefore there is no sanction for morality 
based on reward or punishment affecting the individual 
in the future. Neither does Buddhism name any God 
from whom have proceeded Tables of the Law invested 
with supernatural authority. The true Buddhist, how- 
ever, does not need to be coerced by hopes of heaven or 
fears of hell ; nor can he imagine a higher sanction than 
that of reason (Truth). 2 

1 Lafcadio Hearn, Japan, p. 241. 

2 Those who do not admit the sufficiency of reason cannot be called 
Buddhists ; at the same time it cannot be argued by such a priori, that 

137 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Since Buddhism is essentially a practical system, psycho- 
logical and ethical, rather than philosophical or religious, 
it may very justly demand to be judged by its fruits, and 
it has no need to fear comparisons. 

At the same time it will throw some light on Buddhist 
thought if we inquire what in Buddhism corresponds to 
'conscience.' Conscience — to define the English word 
— is an internal moral judgment upon the motives and 
actions of the individual, and as such is an undeniable 
fact of consciousness ; it automatically and instantly refers 
all activities to a moral standard. This moral standard 
in a theistic system like the old Semitic is formulated in 
a series of commandments : in an atheistic system of self- 
assertion such as is implicitly acknowledged in competitive 
societies (modern Industrialism) there exist similar com- 
mandments, but admittedly man-made and recorded in 
legal codes; he who breaks no laws has there a good 
conscience. In idealistic systems such as that of Jesus, 
the moral standard is resumed in the principle, to love 
one's neighbour as oneself, a position which the monist 
justifies by adding, for thy neighbour is thyself indeed. 
Thus in its lowest form, conscience, which is already 
recognizable in certain of the lower animals, consists in 
little more than the fear of punishment, which, however, 

for true Buddhists, reason may not be a sufficient sanction. As said 
by C. A. F. Rhys Davids (Psalms of the Sisters, p. xxix), "are we sure 
we have gauged the working of all human hearts and every touch to 
which they will respond?" It is noteworthy that in the thirty-four 
edicts of Asoka advocating moral behaviour, there is only one allusion to 
the word of the Buddha as such ; the only sanction, in the sense of motive 
for morality, is the welfare of the individual and the common welfare. 
The idea of promoting the welfare of all beings is deeply rooted in Indian 
sentiment, and an activity devoted to that end would scarcely have 
seemed to require a further motive, whether to Buddhist or Brahman. 

138 



Conscience 

may soon develop into a sense of c sin ' which does not 
altogether depend on fear, but is largely a matter of con- 
vention. Another and higher aspect of conscience is 
based on reason, the knowledge of cause and effect — a 
full realization that evil actions must sooner or later recoil 
on the doer, and the reflection, on the other hand, that all 
beings are like-natured, and therefore it must be right 
to do to others as one would have them do to oneself. A 
third and still higher form of conscience arises from the 
intuition (O.E. inwit) of identity : a bad conscience then 
signifies a consciousness of selfish motive equivalent to a 
denial of the inner relation of unity to which the con- 
science is witness. 

The Buddhist sati, mindfulness or recollectiveness, is to 
be identified with the conscience based on reason. It 
works not so much through the fear of consequence, as 
by a sense of the futility of admitting hindrances to 
spiritual progress. He that is recollected reminds himself 
of natural law, viz. the coming-to-be as the result of a 
cause, and the passing-away-again, of all phenomena, 
physical or mental. To act as if this actual fact of 
Becoming were not a fact, would be foolish, sentimental, 
wrong. Whoever realizes, "all existences are non-ego," 
he cannot act from selfish motives, for he knows no self. 
To many Western minds it may appear that to be ever 
mindful of impermanence cannot be a sufficient sanction 
for morality. Nor can it be pretended that such a sanction 
would or does suffice for all. Those, for example — 
perhaps the majority of professing Buddhists — who regard 
a heaven to be reached after death, perform meritorious 
actions in order to attain it. But for those who understand 
the true significance of Nibbana, ethical behaviour is 
derived from a categorical inner imperative, " because of 

139 



Buddha ftP the Gospel of Buddhism 

Nibbana." * Since the highest good is a state of mind 
(the state of mind of the Arahat, who is delivered from 
desire, resentment, and glamour), every ethical activity 
must be judged as a means to the attainment of that state. 
A bad conscience, then, a state of sin, would be described 
by a Buddhist as a state of mind contrary to Nibbana. 
It may seem that " Because of Nibbana " is not a sufficient 
ethical motif. In the same way even the true Buddhist 
might fail to understand the force of the Christian " Thy 
will be done," "Thy way, not mine, O Lord," or of the 
resignation signified in ' Islam.' Yet all these refer to 
one and the same inner experience, of which we are 
reminded by the Sufi, when he says : " Whoso hath not 
surrendered will, no will hath he." Most probably the 
force of these statements can never be made fully apparent 
to those who have not yet in their own consciousness 
experienced at least the beginning of the turning of 
the personal will from affirmation to denial. But just in 
so far as a man allows his thoughts and actions to be 
determined by impersonal motive — Anatta or Nibbana 
motive, as a Buddhist might say — so far he begins to taste 
of a peace that passes understanding. It is this peace 
which lies at the heart of all religion, and Buddhism may 
well claim that the principle " Because of Nibbana " suffices 
to settle in the affirmative the question whether or not the 
system of Gautama is properly described as a religion 
(though this expression suggests rather a Mahayana than 
an early mode of thought). 

1 Shwe Zan Aung, Buddhist Review^ iii, 2, p. 107. Cf. Clive Bell, 
Art, ii> iii, and G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica. 

Cf. Shikshasamuccaya of Shanti Deva, vv. 21, 23: "Make thy merit 
pure by deeds full of the spirit of tenderness and the Void. . . . Increase 
of enjoyment is from almsgiving full of the spirit of tenderness and the 

Void:' 

140 



Spiritual Exercises 

That aspect of conscience which inhibits wrong activities 
— it will be remembered that most of the early Buddhist 
commandments are negative — is, then, sati or recollected- 
ness. There is, however, another side to conscience 
which impels the individual not merely to refrain from 
injuring others, but to expend himself to their advantage, 
in accordance with the principle that Love can never be 
idle : this is spoken of, in Mahayana Buddhism, as the 
Bodhi-citta, or Heart of Enlightenment. It differs from 
sati chiefly in its spontaneity ; it does not arise from 
reflection, but from the harmony of the individual will 
with the wisdom and activity of the Buddhas. This con- 
dition is sometimes spoken of in Western books of edifi- 
cation as a state of grace, or more popularly as the state 
of ' being in tune with the Infinite.' But a very excellent 
rendering of ' bodhi-citta ' may be found in Feltham's 
1 shoot of everlastingnesse ' i 1 this phrase is the more 
appropriate, because the awakening of the bodhi-citta is 
poetically represented in Buddhist literature as the open- 
ing of the lotus of the heart. 

The two states of mind which in Buddhism correspond to 
the Western idea of conscience, are then, recollectedness, 
and love\ and it is from these conditions that there 
naturally flow all those conceptions of the good which are 
defined at length in the Buddhist passages on ethics. 

VII. SPIRITUAL EXERCISES 
A regular part of the daily work of the members of the 
Sangha — whether Brethren or Sisters — consisted in the 
practice of certain contemplations. These stations of 

1 "The Conscience, the Character of a God stampt in it, and the 
Apprehension of Eternity doe all prove it a shoot of everlastingnesse." — 
Feltham's Resolves. 

141 



Buddha £§? the Gospel of Buddhism 

meditation differ only in minor details from those which 
are regularly practised by Indian ascetics of other orders. 
With characteristic systematization, these modes of 
training heart and mind are often spoken of as forty- 
four in number. How essentially self-educational is the 
purpose of these stations of meditation appears from the 
fact that certain ones are appointed for persons of one 
temperament, and certain others for those of other tem- 
peraments. I have spoken of these meditations delibe- 
rately as * work,' because it is important to understand 
that we do not speak here of any simple matter such as 
day-dream or reverie, but of a severe system of mental 
training, founded on an elaborate psychology, and well 
calculated — now by auto-suggestion, now by close atten- 
tion — to produce the type of character aimed at. 

Training of the Heart 

The first meditations are of an ethical character, and in 
some respects may be compared to prayer. They consist 
in cherishing the moods (bhavanas) of loving-kindness, 
compassion, sympathy, and impartiality (mettd, karund, 
rnuditd) and upekkka). These are called the Four Illimit- 
able Sublime Moods {Brahmavihdras). The meditation 
on Loving-kindness, for example, consists in the emphasis 
of this feeling, the active radiation of goodwill in all 
directions and toward all forms of life : and whoever will 
practise this one Buddhist exercise daily at a fixed hour, 
for a fixed time, and with entire attention, though he 
learn little else of Buddhism, may be judge for himself 
what is the development of character to which it tends. 
Perhaps we can best understand what the Four Sublime 
Moods really signify by considering their equivalents in 
the thought of a modern. When Walt Whitman says : 
142 



Training of the Heart 

/ do not ask you who you are, that is not important 

to me, 
You can do nothing and be nothing but what I will 
infold you, 
and 

When I give, I give myself, 

that is metta. When he says : 

/ do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I 

myself become the wounded person, 
My hurts turn livid upon me as I lean on a cane 

and observe, 

that is karuna. When he says : 

/ understand the large hearts of heroes, 

The courage of present times and all times, . . . 

/ am the man, I suffered, I was there, 

that is mudita. When he says : 

Have you outstripped the rest? Are you the 
President ? l 

// is a trifle, they will more than arrive there every- 
one, and still pass on, 

that is upekkha. 

The purely intellectual character of upekkha, however 
(which as it were corrects and balances the three other 
Sublime Moods), is better explained perhaps by the 
Bhagavad Gita (v. 18) : " They that are pandits indeed, 
regard alike a wise and modest Brahman, a cow, an 
elephant, or even a dog or an outcaste." We are reminded 

1 If for 'President,' we read 'Indra' or 'Brahma' — precisely the 
Presidents of the deva-world and of the whole Universe, holding office 
only for the time being — we can understand these lines in a thoroughly 
Buddhist sense. 

J 43 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

of the sun that shines alike upon the evil and the good ; 
and Buddhism also knows of special meditations upon 
the elements, e.g. upon the earth, which harbours no 
resentment, and is the Indian symbol of patience, or upon 
water, which becomes again transparent and clear, what- 
ever mud or filth is cast into it. The Buddhist would at 
all costs avoid sentimentality and partiality: Gautama, 
perhaps, had reflected, like Nietzsche, " Ah, where in 
the world have there been greater follies than with the 
pitiful ? " 

With the Four Meditations just mentioned is associated 
another {asubka-bkavana), on " Foul things." This very 
different contemplation is appointed for those whose 
emotional nature is already active enough, but are 
on the other hand too readily moved by the thought or 
sight of physical beauty, or feel a pride in their own 
physical perfection. The object of this meditation is to 
impress on the mind that every living organism is subject 
to change and decay ; the practice consists in the contem- 
plation of human bones or half-decayed corpses, such as 
may be seen in an Indian burial-ground. 
It would be difficult to secure for this discipline the 
sympathy of modern minds. Nor does the method 
appear quite calculated to secure the desired end; may it 
not rather enhance the value of the fleeting moment to 
reflect — 

Suck is tke beauty of a maid — 

Like autumn leaves they fall and fade ? 

Not all the analytic lore of the physiologist makes him 
any the less susceptible to love. If we neglect, however, 
this purely monastic aspect of a rather futile endeavour to 
induce disgust by artificial means, and remember how 
144 



Training of the Heart 

Buddhist thought is always on guard to avoid senti- 
mentality, we may understand such a meditation as a 
corrective to the temperament which falls in love with all 
that is new and fair, and admires only such art as repre- 
sents the charms of youth and beauty. But it seems to 
be overlooked that physical beauty is in itself and so far 
a good. He that would go further must renounce indul- 
gence, not because that indulgence is bad, but because he 
has other and stronger desires. The true ascetic is not 
he who is such by a species of mental violence, 1 but he 
who is thinking of other things than passing goods. 
With regard to the purpose of these meditations : we may 
observe that they are not intended for ascetics only, but 
equally for laymen, and must have resulted in active 
deeds of compassion. Buddhist thought, however, is 
more concerned with states of mind than with direct 
injunctions to labour for others ; and the true purpose of 
the Four Sublime Moods is to correct the disposition 
of those who are ill-tempered and uncharitable. To 
overcome resentment is essential to all further progress ; 
but the Sublime Moods by themselves lead only to re- 
birth in the Brahma Heavens of Form. In the subsequent 
development toward Nibbana the Sublime Moods are 
overpast, since they are directed toward other persons, 
while the thought of the most advanced is directed 
only to Nibbana. For the realization of Nibbana 
there must be put away not only bad states of mind, 
but also good ones. The former lead to rebirth under 
painful conditions, the latter to rebirth under favour- 
able conditions ; but neither constitutes the saving 
knowledge which gives emancipation. Buddha is made, 

1 The saying of the poet, that " Desires suppressed breed pestilence," 
is confirmed by the researches of the psycho-analyst. 

K 145 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

in the Buddha-carita of Asvaghosha (vii, 25), to speak of 
these efforts as follows : 

" It is not the effort itself which I blame, which flinging 
aside the base pursues a high path of its own ; but the 
wise, by all this common toil, ought to attain that state in 
which nothing needs ever to be done again." 

Jhana 

A further group of meditations consists of the Jhanas or 
Dhyanas strictly so-called; these, too, are disciplines of 
attention and abstraction almost identical with those which 
are better known as belonging to Yoga. 
"Blessed art thou, therefore," says Behmen, "if thou 
canst stand still from self-thinking and self-willing, and 
canst stop the wheel of thy imagination and thy senses ; 
forasmuch as hereby thou mayst arrive at length to see 
the great Salvation of God, being made capable of all 
manner of divine sensations and heavenly communica- 
tions. Since it is nought indeed but thine own hearing 
and willing that do hinder thee." Just as the mystic seeks 
to be abstracted from mental activity, in order the better 
to know the One Reality, in just the same way the Bud- 
dhist makes a practice of abstraction that he may be 
delivered from self- thinking; and may come to know 
things as they really are. If we omit the two words ' of 
God ' in the above quotation, or remember that God is 
No-thing, it will exactly explain the character and ultimate 
purpose of the Buddhist Jhanas. 

One series of these consists in meditation upon certain 
set objects — for example, a circle of smooth earth — in 
such a way as to separate oneself from all appetite or im- 
pulse in connexion with them. This exercise recalls the 
disinterestedness of aesthetic contemplation, where the 

146 




Plate K 



THE BUDDHA IN SAMADHI 

Colossal image at Anuradhapura, Ceylon, ca. 2nd century a.d. 



146 



Jh 



ana 

spectator " is from himself set free " ; the Buddhist Jhana 
aims to attain the same result in a more mechanical way. 
This contemplation prepares the way for higher things, 
and by itself leads to favourable rebirth in the Heaven of 
Ideal Form {ritpaloka). The resulting trance is divided 
into four or five phases. 

A further series, which secure rebirth in the Heaven of 
No-form (ariLfialoka), consists in the successive realization 
of the stations of the Infinity of Space, of the Infinity of 
Intellection, of Emptiness, and of Neither-consciousness- 
nor-unconsciousness. In these exercises the aspirant 
experiences, as it were, a foretaste of the worlds of re- 
becoming to which his character will lead after death; 
for the moment, indeed, he already enters those worlds. 
These exercises, however, do not lead directly and imme- 
diately to Nibbana, but only to re-becoming in the more 
ideal conditions of those higher other-worlds. Beyond 
these stations there remained the cultivation of ' thought 
engaged upon the world beyond' (lokuttaram cittam). 
The method hardly differs from what has been last 
described, but is without thought or desire of any other 
world, whether of form or formless, and is pursued solely 
with the view to achieving perfection of insight here and 
now. For this reason, notwithstanding the similarity of 
method, the Buddhist authors draw a sharp distinction 
between the Jhana which leads to Nibbana directly, and 
those Jhanas which merely lead to rebirth in the Brahma 
Heavens of Form or No-form. 

The term Samadhi must also be mentioned, originally 
indicating any profound pious meditation or concentration 
— " ' cit? ekaggata? the one-pointed state of the mind, is a 
synonym for samadhi . . . this samadhi, which is called 
self-collectedness, has as its characteristic mark the 

147 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

absence of wandering, of distraction . . . and as its 
concomitants, calmness, or wisdom . . . and ease." 1 
Samadhi is also divided under many separate classes, e.g. 
the Empty (sunfiata), the Signless (animitta), and the 
Aimless (appanihita), corresponding to the three phases of 
Vimutti similarly characterized. 

VIII. CONSOLATION 

Nothing is more characteristic of Gautama's thought than 
the form of the consolation which it offers to the suffering 
individual. There is no promise of future compensation, 
as of a reunion in heaven, but there is reference to the 
universality of suffering ; the individual is led to regard 
his sorrow, not as ' his own/ but as world sorrow, welt- 
scktnerz, inseparable from life itself; all sorrow is self- 
inflicted, inherent in the conceit of an I. Consolation is 
to be found in the ' knowledge of things as they really 



are.' 



"The pilgrimage of beings (Samsara), my disciples," 
says Gautama, " has its beginning in eternity. No open- 
ing (first cause) can be discovered, whence proceeding, 
creatures fettered by a thirst for being, stray and wander. 
What think ye, disciples, whether is more, the water which 
is in the four great oceans, or the tears which have flowed 
from you and have been shed by you, while ye strayed and 
wandered on this long pilgrimage, and sorrowed and wept, 
because that was your portion which ye abhorred and that 
which ye loved was not your portion ? " 2 Not only has 
each in himself this long inheritance of suffering, but all 
have experienced and still experience the same. It is 
related that there came a mother, GotamI the Slender, to 

1 Commentary on the JDhamma-Sangam. 

2 Samyutta Nikaya^ iii, 149. 
148 



Consolation 

Gautama, having lost her only son, while yet a child. 
Bewildered by her grief, she set the child's dead body on 
her hip and went from door to door crying, " Give me 
medicine for my child ! " When she came to Gautama, 
he answered, " Go into the town, bring me a little mus- 
tard-seed from any house where no man hath yet died." 
She went ; but there was no family where death had never 
entered. At last, going from house to house in vain, she 
came to herself, and thought, "This will be the same 
throughout the city ... it is the Law, that all things 
pass away." So saying, she returned to the master ; and 
when he asked for the seed, she said, " Wrought is the 
work, lord, of the little mustard. Give thou me confirma- 
tion." At that time she entered the First Path, and it 
was not long before she attained to Arahatta. 
In another place, the Buddhist nun Patacara is represented 
as consoling many bereaved mothers of the city in the 
following words : 

Weep not, for suck is here the life of man. 
Unasked he came, unbidden went he hence. 
Lo I ask thyself again whence came thy son 
To bide on earth this little breathing space ? 
By one way come and by another gone, . . . 
So hither and so hence — why should ye weep ? 1 

And these mothers also, it is recorded, were moved to 
leave the world ; and practising as sisters the mental and 
moral discipline of the Order, they shortly attained to 
Arahatta and the ending of grief. 

1 C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Psalms of the Sisters, p. 78. Observe that 
Patacara's consolation differs little from that of Sri Krishna an the 
Bhagavad Gita (ii, 27) : "For to the born, sure is death, to the dead, 
sure is birth : so for an issue that may not be escaped thou dost not 
well to sorrow." 

149 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Very significant also is the consolation which the Buddha 
offers to his disciples at the time of his own death. 1 
" Enough, Ananda ! do not let yourself be troubled ; do 
not weep ! Have I not already, on former occasions, told 
you that it is in the very nature of all things most near 
and dear unto us that we must divide ourselves from 
them ? How, then, Ananda, can this be possible — whereas 
anything whatever born, brought into being, and organized, 
contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution 
— how, then, can this be possible, that such a being should 
not be dissolved? No such condition can exist!" 
It will be remembered that Ananda, though in a measure 
the favourite disciple of Buddha, was also spiritually the 
youngest, the most backward, and did not attain to 
Arahatta until after the death of the Buddha. And so 
when that death takes place, he is represented as overcome 
by grief, and exclaiming : 

Then was the terror I 
Then stood the hair on end I 
When he endowed with every grace — 
The supreme Buddha — died I 

and " of those of the Brethren who were not yet free from 
the passions, some stretched their arms and wept, and 
some fell headlong on the ground, rolling to and fro in 
anguish at the thought : ' Too soon has the Exalted One 
died! Too soon has the Happy One passed away! Too 
soon has the Light gone out in the world ! ' But those of 
the Brethren who were free from the passions bore their 
grief collected and composed at the thought : * Impermanent 
are all component things! How is it possible that (they 

1 Compare with this the death-bed consolation of King Dutthagamani, 
quoted p. 300, below, from the Mahavamsa, 

150 



VIII 

BUDDHA AS MENDICANT 

Abanindro Nath Tagore 

Page 150 



The Order 

should not be dissolved)? ' " The venerable Anuruddha, 
one who had already attained, and was an Arahat, does 
not feel the personal and passionate grief which distresses 
Ananda, and he says : 

When he who from all craving want was free 
Who to Nirvana's tranquil state had reached 
When the g7'eat sage finished his span of life 
No gasping struggle vexed that steadfast heart I 
A 11 resolute, and with unshaken mind 
He calmly triumphed d* er the pain of death. 
E'en as a bright flame dies away, so was 
The last emancipation of his heart. 

While Sakka, the king of the gods of heaven, under 
Brahma, utters the famous lines : 

They* re transient all, each being' } s parts and powers, 
Growth is their very nature, and decay, 
They are produced, they are dissolved again : 
To bring them all into subjection — that is bliss. 

IX. THE ORDER 

The central institution of Hinayana Buddhism is the 
Sangha, the ' Company ' of Brethren, the men, and in 
smaller number the women, who left the world to walk on 
the Path that leads to Arahatta, the attainment of Nibbana. 
Gautama himself, together with his disciples, belonged to 
the class of religieux, then well-known as ' Wanderers ' 
(Paribbajakas), who are to be distinguished from the 
forest-dwelling hermits ( Vanaprasthas). The Wanderers 
travelled about singly or in bands, or took up their 
residence for a time in the groves or buildings set apart 
for their use by good laymen. Thus we hear of the 

151 



Buddha §F the Gospel of Buddhism 

wandering mendicant Potthapada, who on a certain occa- 
sion " was dwelling at the hall put up in Queen Mallika's 
Park for the discussion of systems of opinion the hall 
set round with a row of Tinduka trees, and known by 
the name of 'The Hall.' And there was with him a 
great following of mendicants; to wit, three hundred 
mendicants." 1 

Such mendicants, or Bhikkhus (a term afterward coming 
to have a distinctively Buddhist significance) were often 
associated in companies, under the teaching of some 
leader, such as the Potthapada above mentioned; and 
we hear amongst others of the following orders with 
members of which Gautama at one time or another enters 
into argument : the Niganthas (or Jainas), led by Mahavira ; 
the Ajlvikas; the Gotamakas, followers most likely of 
Devadatta, the Buddha's schismatic and ill-minded 
cousin ; various Brahmanical groups, and many others of 
whose views we know little. The first of these groups 
developed like Buddhism into an Order and a religion, and 
has survived in India to the present day with an extensive 
literature and over a million adherents. The Rule 
adopted by one or the other group of Wanderers varied 
in detail, but always embraced a certain degree of 
asceticism (always including celibacy), combined with 
voluntary poverty. 

1 T. W. Rhys Davids, Dialogues of the Buddha^ i, 224. Professor 
Rhys Davids adds the following note : " The very fact of the erection 
of such a place is another proof of the freedom of thought prevalent in 
the Eastern valley of the Ganges in the sixth century B.C. Buddha- 
ghosha tells us that after \ The Hall ' had been established, others near 
it had been built in honour of various famous teachers ; but the group 
of buildings continued to be known as ' The Hall.' There Brahmans, 
Niganthas, Achelas, Paribbajakas, and other teachers met and ex- 
pounded, or discussed, their views." 
152 




BUDDHIST MONK (bhikkhu) 

Chinese, school of Long-men (8th century) 

Collection of Mr Victor Golonbew 



The Order 

We can now examine in greater detail the special Rule 
which was adopted in the Order founded by Gautama, 
and organized under his immediate guidance. We have 
already mentioned the Ten Commandments, or rather, 
Prohibitions, which must be observed by every member 
of the Order. The Brethren are also required to wear a 
monastic costume of yellow or orange cloth, made of 
torn pieces, sewn together so as to have no commercial 
value : to seek their daily food as alms ; to abstain from 
food between meals at the appointed hours : and generally, 
to maintain a decorous behaviour. But they are not re- 
quired to take any vow of life-long adhesion — on the 
contrary, those who find they have no true vocation are 
encouraged to return to the world, where, if they cannot 
attain Arahatta in this life, they may yet aspire to a favour- 
able rebirth. Nor are the Brethren required to take any 
vow of obedience to superiors : all are equal, with due allow- 
ance for seniority, and degree of spiritual advancement : 
even in large monasteries, the head is merely primus 
inter pares. The Order constitutes thus a self-contained 
democracy, analogous to a guild or occupational caste. 
Discipline is maintained formally by the Order as a whole, 
acting upon the confession or proved fault of the erring 
Brother, and appointing, in bi-monthly convocation, a 
suitable penance; the heaviest punishment, appointed for 
infringement of either of the Four Cardinal Sins (breach 
of the vow of chastity, theft, killing, and laying claim to 
j miraculous powers), is expulsion from the Order; mention 
i is also made in Asoka's edicts of expulsion or unfrocking 
of heretics or schismatics. An external check is also 
\ provided by public opinion, which neither in the days of 
Gautama, nor in modern Burma or Ceylon, would tolerate 
the mere pretence of a holy life. Thus, says Mr Fielding 

I 153 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Hall, in modern Burma "the supervision exercised by 
the people over their monks is most stringent. As 
long as the monks act as monks should, they are held in 
great honour, they are addressed by titles of great respect, 
they are supplied with all they want within the rules of 
the Wini ( Vinaya), they are the glory of the village. . . . 
Directly he breaks his laws, his holiness is gone. The 
villagers will have none such as he. They will hunt him 
out of the village, they will refuse him food, they will 
make him a byword, a scorn." 

The monastery is also in many cases the village school ; l 
and in Burma it is the custom for almost every young 
man to take the monastic vows for a short time, and to 
reside for that period within the monastery walls. This 
possibility of using the Order as a ' Retreat ' also explains 
how it was possible for Asoka to assume the monastic 
robes without finally relinquishing his throne. 
It is above all important to realize that the Buddhist 
Brother, Monk, Religious mendicant (Bhikkhu, the word 
in most general use), Wanderer, or however we speak of 
him, is not a priest. He does not belong to an apostolic 
succession, nor has he any power to save or condemn, to 
forgive sins or to administer sacraments ; he has no other 
1 "All monasteries are schools." — Fielding Hall, The Soul of a People. 
Of course, teaching is not an essential duty of the Brother, but a task 
voluntarily undertaken. Similar conditions prevailed, until recently, 
in Ceylon : " Besides the relation in which the priests stand to 
their tenants as landlords, and the religious influence of their possession, 
they have other holds on the possession of the people. Their pansalas 
(monasteries) are the schools for village children, and the sons of even 
the superior headmen are very generally educated at them. They have 
also frequently some knowledge of medicine, and when this is the case 
they generally give the benefit of their advice gratuitously . . . their 
influence among the people is, in* a social point of view, usefully 
employed." — Ceylon, Service Tenures Commission Report^ 1872. 

154 




A. MONASTERY OF CHIEH-T'AI-SSU, NEAR PEKING 




Plate M 134 

B. COURTYARD OF THE PI-YUN TEMPLE, NEAR PEKING 

Photographs by B. F. Johnston 



Tolerance 

sanctity than attaches to his own good living. The care 
of a Buddhist temple is no essential part of his duties, 
though in most cases a temple is attached to every 
monastery, and is under the care of the Brethren, while 
village shrines have their incumbents whose livelihood is 
provided by the produce of lands dedicated to it. But 
this care of sacred places has no likeness to priestcraft, 
nor does the temple contain any sanctum which may not 
be approached as well by laymen as by Brethren. 
Each monk is permitted eight possessions only : the three 
robes, a waist cloth, an alms bowl, a razor, a needle, and 
a water-strainer. The modern Bhikkhu generally possesses 
in addition an umbrella and a few books, 1 but the handling 
of money is carefully avoided. Nevertheless the hardship 
of voluntary poverty is largely mitigated by the fact that 
the Order as such is permitted to receive gifts and en- 
dowments from laymen, a practice begun even in the time 
of the Buddha; later Buddhist monasteries became ex- 
tremely wealthy and are well furnished with residences 
for the Brethren. Even under these conditions the mode 
of life is extremely simple, and no one could accuse the 
monks of luxury. 

X. TOLERANCE 

India is the land of religious tolerance. There can be no 
, doubt that Gautama and his disciples extended to those 

of other persuasions the same courtesy which he received. 

This is indicated not only by the general procedure adopted 

in the case of argument with opponents, but also in several 
j amiable anecdotes. We read, for example, that Gautama 

converted at Vaisali a Licchavi nobleman, who had been 

1 Writing was known, but books were not in general use when the 
order was founded : the basis of learning was what a man remembered. 

J 55 



Buddha ftp the Gospel of Buddhism 

a follower of Mahavira : but he advised him as follows : 
"For a long time, Slha, your house has been a place of 
refuge for the Niganthas (followers of Mahavira, i.e. 
Jainas). Therefore you should consider it becoming that 
alms should still be given to them when they come to you." x 
Primitive Buddhism included eighteen various schools of 
thought, sometimes spoken of as sects or denominations ; 
according to another classification the number is twelve. 
Concerning these schools which would arise after his death, 
Gautama is said to have made the following pronounce- 
ment: "These schools will be the repositories of the 
twelve diversified fruits of my scriptures without priority 
or inferiority — just as the taste of sea-water is everywhere 
the same: — or as tne twelve sons of one man, all honest 
and true, so will be the exposition of my doctrine advo- 
cated by these schools." 2 If these are not the actual 
words, of the Buddha, they testify at least to what the 
Buddhists at a later period considered that he might very 
well have said ; and this sympathetic position is also well 
illustrated in practice, for Hiouen Tsang in the sixth 
century found representatives of all the eighteen sects living 
side by side in a single monastery without dissension. The 
traditional tolerance of Indian kings, who extend their sup- 
port to all sects alike, is also well seen in the case of Asoka, 
who patronized even the Ajivikas, whose doctrines are so 
often denounced by Gautama as definitely false. Certain 
passages in the Edicts treat of tolerance as follows : 
"His Sacred and Gracious Majesty the King does 
reverence to men of all sects, whether ascetics or house- 
holders, by gifts and various forms of reverence. 
"His Sacred Majesty, however, cares not so much for 
gifts or external reverence as that there should be a 
1 MaMvagga, vi, 31. 2 Beal, Ind. Ant, y ix, 1880, p. 300. 

I 5 6 



^ 




& J. - 




jj& BL ^__— — --■ tf ^^^1'MAM 




I 1^ '- 


1 'i 


BBSt; R 


.,.;>- 



^. SUMMIT OF ADAM'S PEAK 

Shrine of the Sacred Foot-print, with two Bhikkhus 




Plate N 



B. LANKATILAKA, NR. KANDY 



Tolerance 

growth of the essence of the matter in all sects. The 
growth of the essence of the matter assumes various 
forms, but the root of it is restraint of speech, to wit, a 
man must not do reverence to his own sect or disparage 
that of another man without reason. Depreciation should 
be for specific reasons only, because the sects of other 
people all deserve reverence for one reason or another . . . 
he who does reverence to his own sect while disparaging 
the sects of others wholly from attachment to his own, 
with intent to enhance the splendour of his own sect, in 
reality by such conduct inflicts the severest injury on his 
own sect. 1 Concord, therefore, is meritorious, to wit, 
hearkening and hearkening willingly to the Law of Piety 
as accepted by other people. For this is the desire of 
His Sacred Majesty that all sects should hear much 
teaching and hold sound doctrine." 

1 He, in the words of Schopenhauer, who " labours carefully to prove 
that the dogmas of the foreign belief do not agree with those of his 
own, to explain that not only they do not say the same, but certainly 
do not mean the same as his." With that he fancies in his simplicity 
that he has proved the falsity of the doctrines of the alien belief. 
It really never occurs to him to ask the question which of the two 
is right. I was once acquainted wich an ardent English supporter 
of foreign missions who informed me that a Hindu was a Buddhist 
who worshipped Muhammad. Asoka's view of tolerance is that which 
has always prevailed in India. Compare " Let every man, so far as 
in him lieth, help the reading of the scriptures, whether those of 
his own church or those of another " {Bhakta-kalpadruma of Pratapa 
Simha, 1866). The only true missionary is he who brings to the 
support of the scriptures of others, that which he finds in his own 
books. The more one knows of various beliefs, the more impossible it 
becomes to distinguish one from another ; and indeed no religion could 
be true which did not imply the same which every other religion implies. 
" These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are 
not original with me. If they are not yours as much as mine, they are , 
nothing, or next to nothing." — Walt Whitman. 

157 



Buddha SF the Gospel of Buddhism 

It must not, however, be supposed that early Buddhists 
extended the idea of tolerance so far as to believe that it 
was possible to attain salvation otherwise than through 
the Doctrine and Discipline expressly taught by Gautama. 
Heresy, on the contrary, is regarded as a damnable sin, to 
be expiated in the purgatories. The Ajivikas are regarded 
as particularly impious, and Gautama being asked whether 
any such can attain to heaven after death — to say nothing 
of Nibbana — replies : " In the ninety-one aeons, O Vatsya, 
which I recall, I remember but one single Ajivika who 
attained to' heaven and he acknowledged the truth of 
kamma and the efficacy of works." * 
"Void are the systems of other teachers," says Gautama, 
— "void of true saints," 2 a view that is echoed by Brother 
Nagita as follows : 

Outside our Order many others be, who teach 
A path, never, like this one, to Nibbana leading? 
Nor was free thinking actually tolerated within the order. 
The whole object of the Buddhist Councils, as well as of 
the final writing down of the Pali canon, was to fix the 
true doctrine and eradicate the false. Heretical brethren 
were excommunicated ; the best evidence of this appears 
in certain of the Edicts of Asoka, who lays down that the 
Way of the Church must not be departed from, and that 
those who break the unity of the Church shall be unfrocked, 
and must dwell apart from the Brethren. 4 It is quite 

1 Anguttara Nikaya, ii, p. 227. 

2 Mahapar nibbana Sutta {Dialogues of the Buddha, ii, 152). Cf also, 
" For all beings salvation is only to be found in Buddha, Dhamma, and 
Sangha." — Khuddakapatha. 

3 Psalms of the Brethren, No. lxxxvi (Nagita). 

4 Mr. R. F. Johnston is therefore not quite correct in saying that 
expulsion from monkhood is never inflicted for free thought or in- 
fidelity. — Buddhist China, p. 308. 

158 



Women 

clear that the early Buddhists claimed not merely to 
possess the truth, but to possess a monopoly of truth. 
The Mahayana is more Catholic. The fundamental 
doctrine of Convenient Means (upaya) of itself implies 
the necessary variety of external form and formula which 
intuition or revelation must assume. We therefore read 
characteristically that — 

" Perceiving an incarnation of the Dharmakaya in every 
spiritual leader regardless of his nationality and professed 
creed, Mahayanists recognize a Buddha in Socrates, 
Mohammad, Jesus, Francis of Assisi, Confucius, Laotze, 
and many others." * 

The Mahayana is indeed in principle as eclectic as 
Hinduism, and could easily assimilate to itself any foreign 
religious system as a new sect. For " the Conquerors 
are masters of various and manifold means whereby the 
Tathagata reveals the supreme light to the world of gods 
and men, — means adapted to their temperament and 
prejudices." 2 All past and all future Buddhas teach the 
same saving knowledge in the manner best suited to the 
time and place of their appearance. 

XL WOMEN 

" Reverend Sir, have you seen a woman pass this way ?" And the elder 
said: 

"Was it a woman, or a man 
That passed this way ? I cannot tell. 
But this I know, a set of bones 
Is travelling upon this road." 

Visuddhi Magga, ch. i. 

A good number of the Jatakas or Birth-stories of Gautama 
are designed to point the moral of feminine iniquity. 

1 Suzuki, Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism, p. 63. 

2 Saddharmapundarika Sutra, ii, 36 and 73. 

159 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

" Unfathomably deep, like a fish's course in the water," 
they say, " is the character of women, robbers with many 
artifices, with whom truth is hard to find, to whom a 
lie is like the truth and the truth is like a lie. . . . 
No heed should be paid either to their likes or to their 
dislikes." 

The doctrine of Gautama is monastic, as his temperament 
is unemotional. In the words of Oldenberg, " Was it 
possible for a mind like Buddha, who in the severe deter- 
mination of renunciation had torn himself away from all 
that is attractive and lovely in this world, was he given 
the faculty, to understand and to value woman's nature ? " 
We must understand that the Early Buddhist want of 
sympathy with woman is not an unique phenomenon, but 
rather one that is typical of monastic sentiment all the 
world over. It is based on fear. For of all the snares 
of the senses which Ignorance sets before the unwary, the 
most insidious, the most dangerous, the most attractive, 
is woman. 

" Master," says Ananda, " how shall we behave before 
women ? " — " You should shun their gaze, Ananda." — 
" But if we see them, master, what then are we to do?" 
— " Not speak to them, Ananda." — " But if we do speak 
to them, what then?" — "Then you must watch over 
yourselves, Ananda." To fall in love is a form of Moha, 
infatuation : and just as the monastic view of art takes 
note only of its sensuous elements, so the monastic view 
of woman and the love of woman takes into account none 
but the physical factors. To compare Nibbana — as the 
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad compares the bliss of Atman- 
intuition — to the self-forgetting happiness of earthly 
lovers, locked in each other's arms, would be for Buddhist 
thought a bitter mockery. No less remote from Buddhist 
1 60 



Women 

sentiment is the view of Western chivalry which sees in 
woman a guiding star, or that of Vaishnava or Platonic 
idealism which finds in the adoration of the individual 
an education to the love of all. 

We need not deny that the position of Gautama is from 
a certain point of view just. It is scarcely to be gainsaid 
that woman is nearer to the world than man ; and sexual 
differentiation is one of those things which are ' not so, 
not so' in Nirvana. We have only to recognize that 
Gautama had no conception of a moral duty to provide 
for the continuance of the race, such as is implied in the 
later Brahmanical doctrine of the debt to the ancestors. 
He called on men and women alike to root up the infernal 
grove, to abandon the sexual nature, and to put on spiritual 
manhood ; for those not yet prepared for this change, he 
felt such compassion as a gentle spirit may feel for those 
who suffer and whose suffering is the result of their own 
infatuation. 

Gautama's favourite and spiritually youngest disciple 
Ananda is frequently represented as advocating the 
cause of woman. When the question of the admission 
of women to the Order — in effect a claim to the rights 
of women not altogether unlike that of the moderns — 
was raised, Ananda, already three times refused, finally 
asks : 

" Are women competent, Reverend Sir, if they retire from 
the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine 
and discipline announced by the Tathagata, to attain to 
the fruit of conversion, to attain to the fruit of once- 
returning, to attain to the fruit of never-returning, to 
attain to Arahatta?" 

Gautama cannot deny their competence ; in response to 
Ananda' s further pleas he admits women to the Order, 

l 161 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

subject to eighty weighty regulations, beginning with one 
to the effect that even the eldest ordained Sister must 
stand before and behave with extreme humility toward a 
Brother, if even only ordained a single day. But he adds : 
" If, Ananda, women had not retired from household life 
to the houseless one, under the doctrine and discipline 
announced by the Tathagata, religion, Ananda, would 
long endure ; a thousand years would the good doctrine 
abide. But since, Ananda, women have now retired from 
the household life to the houseless one, under the doctrine 
and discipline announced by the Tathagata, not long, 
Ananda, will religion endure ; but five hundred years, 
Ananda, will the good doctrine abide." 
Elsewhere, in reply to another question propounded by 
Ananda, Gautama replies : 

" Women are soon angered, Ananda ; women are full of 
passion, Ananda; women are envious, Ananda; women 
are stupid, Ananda. That is the reason, Ananda, that 
the cause, why women have no place in public assemblies, 
do not carry on a business, and do not earn their living 
by any profession." 

Highly characteristic is the story of thirty charitable 
men, led by the Bodhisatta when existing in the form of 
the young Brahman, Magha : these men, upon a certain 
occasion were setting up a rest-house at the cross-roads 
by way of charity. " But as they no longer took delight 
in womankind, they allowed no woman to share in the 
good work." It is pleasing to reflect that a lady of the 
name of Piety succeeded in bribing one of these painfully 
good men to agree to a stratagem by which she was 
enabled to share in the meritorious work, and that she 
thereby earned for herself a palace in the heaven of Sakka. 1 
1 Kulavaka Jataka, 
162 






Women 

On the other hand we find that Gautama did not disdain 
to accept the hospitality and the gifts of devout laywomen. 1 
Such a one is represented to us in the honourable matron 
Visakha, " a rich citizen commoner at Savatthi, the chief 
town of Kosala, the mother of many blooming children, 
the grandmother of countless grandchildren." This lady 
makes provision on a liberal scale for the Buddha and his 
disciples while they reside at Savatthi. One day she 
approaches Gautama and makes eight requests, and these 
are, that she may be allowed to furnish the brethren with 
clothes for the rainy season, food to the brethren who reach 
Savatthi, or pass through Savatthi, or who are sick, or 
who reside there, medicine for the sick, and bathing- 
dresses to the sisters. She sets forth the desirability of 
such alms in detail. The Buddha replies with words of 
approval, and is pleased to grant the eight favours. It 
should be remarked, that in accordance with the Indian 
view of charity, these are so many favours bestowed upon 
Visakha, — not, as Western readers might think, upon the 
Order; for the religious mendicant, by accepting gifts, 
confers upon the giver the opportunity of a meritorious 
deed. Accordingly the Holy One praised Visakha as one 
who walks the shining, commendable path, and will joy- 
fully reap for a long period the reward of her charity, in 
heaven above. 

It is justly remarked by Professor Oldenberg : " Pictures 
like this of Visakha, benefactresses of the Church, with 
their inexhaustible religious zeal, and their not less inex- 
haustible resources of money, are certainly, if anything 

1 The seven most illustrious women of Early Buddhism are : Khema, 
Uppalavanna, Patacara, Bhadda, Kisa Gotami, Dhammadinna, and 
Visakha. For the full story of Visakha see Warren, Buddhism in 
Translations^ p. 451 /; for Kisa Gotami see pp. 23, 148, 270; for 
Visakha see p. 52 ; for Khema see p. 223. 

163 



Buddha ftP the Gospel of Buddhism 

ever was, drawn from the life of India in those days : they 
cannot be left out of sight, if we desire to get an idea 
of the actors who made the oldest Buddhist community 
what it was." 

Gautama, however, did not merely accept the offerings of 
the respectable, but also those of ' sinners.' It is recorded 
that upon a certain occasion he accepted for himself and 
his followers an invitation to dinner 1 from the courtesan 
Ambapall, and refused the alternative invitation of the 
Licchavi princes, to their great annoyance. 2 He also for 
some time took up his residence in her mango pleasaunce, 
of which, moreover, she made a gift to the Order. The 
Sutta says : 

" The Exalted One accepted the gift ; and after instruct- 
ing, and rousing, and inciting, and gladdening her with 
religious discourse, he rose from his seat and departed 
thence. ,, 

It is worthy of note that neither Visakha nor Ambapall 
is represented to have left the world as an immediate result 
of his teaching, or even to have changed her mode of life ; 
their gifts were accepted by Gautama simply as those of 
pious laywomen. Each would receive in some heaven the 
immediate reward of her generosity, and in some future 
life the fruit of perfect enlightenment. 
Buddhist thought gives honour to woman to this extent, 
that it never doubts the possibility of her putting off her 
woman's nature, and even in this life becoming, as it were, 
a man. The case is given of the lady Gopika who, 
" having abandoned a woman's thoughts and cultivated 
the thoughts of a man " was reborn as a son of Sakka in 
heaven. There was also, and more conspicuous, the 

1 This does not involve sitting down to eat at the same table or at the 

same time. 2 See above, pp. 74, 75. 

164 



Women 

great body of the Sisters — initiated, though under protest, 
with the consent of Gautama himself — of whom many- 
attained to Arahatta, to Nibbana ; and of these last, the 
beautiful songs of triumph are preserved in the Psalms of 
the Sisters, And although these Sisters were technically 
appointed juniors in perpetuity to the Brethren, "it is 
equally clear that, by intellectual and moral eminence, 
a Therl might claim equality with the highest of the 
fraternity." * 

The woman who left the world and adopted the Sister's 
rule not only escaped from the restrictions and drudgery of 
domesticity, but — like the Hindu widow of the type of 
LilavatI, or like the modern woman thinker who meets 
her masculine colleagues on equal terms — obtained from 
her brethren recognition as a rational being, a human 
being rather than a woman ; she shared the intellectual 
communion of the religious aristocracy of the Ariyas. 
Her point of view in this regard is clearly expressed in 
the Psalms : 

Am I a woman in suck matters, or 
Am I a man ? or what am I then ? 
and 

How should the woman* s nature hinder Us ? 

while all that is essentially feminine is left behind 

Speak not to me of delighting in aught of sensuous 

pleasures ! 
Verily all such vanities now no more may delight me. 

This position is very closely paralleled by that which is 
put forward by Schopenhauer, and by Weininger. The 
latter sums up his argument by saying : " Man can only 

1 C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Psalms of the Sister s> p. xxvi. 

165 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

respect woman when she herself ceases to be object and 
material for man. ... A woman who had really given up 
her sexual self, who wished to be at peace, would be no 
longer ' woman.' She would have ceased to be ' woman,' 
she would have received the inward and spiritual sign as 
well as the outward form of regeneration." He asks, " Is 
it (then) possible for woman really to wish to realize the 
problem of existence, the conception of guilt (dukkha) ? 
Can she really desire freedom? This can happen only 
by her being penetrated by an ideal, brought to the 
guiding star. ... In that way only can there be an emanci- 
pation (Nibbana) of woman." * To these questions the 
Buddhist experience replies that it is possible for woman 
to really desire freedom, and that no small number of 
women amongst the Buddhist Sisters attained it. 
It may be left to the advocates of woman's ' emancipa- 
tion ' on the one hand, and to feminine idealists on the 
other, to debate how far these views involve the honour 
or the dishonour of ' woman.' 

XII. EARLY BUDDHISM AND NATURE 

Here, O Bhikkus, are the roots of trees, here are empty places : 
meditate. — Majjhima Nikdya i i, 118. 

That deep understanding of Nature which characterizes 
the later developments of Buddhism in China and Japan 
we must not regard as entirely alien to the early Bud- 
dhists, still less as essentially Far Eastern rather than 
Indian. In spite of themselves the early Buddhist her- 
mits were lovers of Nature, and even in Hlnayana litera- 
ture the poet now and again overcomes the monk. That 
delight in flowers and forests which is characteristic of 

1 Weininger, Sex and Character (1906), pp. 347-9. 
166 



Early Buddhism &P Nature 

the Brahmanical epics, especially the Ramayana, and of 
the Indian love-song throughout, was also felt by some 
of the Buddhist Brethren and Sisters. Almost exactly 
that sentiment which finds expression in Whitman's 
exclamation 

/ think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so 

placid and self-contained, 
I stand and look at them long and long. 
They do not sweat and whine about their condition. . . . 
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania 

of owning things \ 

is to be recognized in the customary Indian, and therefore 
also Buddhist, comparison of the ideal man, be he Rama 
or Buddha, to a lion or an elephant, or sometimes to a 
mountain that may not be shaken : 

Like elephant superb is he 
On wooded heights in Himalay . . . 
The Naga's trunk is confidence ; 
His white tusks equanimity. . . . 
Detachment is the tail of him. . . . 
From store laid up he doth refrain} 

or, again, the hermit 

Shineth glorious in a patchwork robe 
As lion in the sombre mountain cave} 

or is likened to the mountain's self : 

Sure-based, a Brother with illusions gone, 
Like to that mountain stands unwavering} 

1 Psalms of the Brethren (Theragatha), trans. T. W. and C. A. F. 
Rhys Davids. The eight quotations next following are from the same 
source. 

167 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

Elsewhere the Buddha, or one like Buddha is compared 
to the flower of the lotus : 

So is the Buddha in this world, 

Born in the world and dwelling there, 

But by the world nowise defiled 

E'en as the lily by the lake. 

The way of the Buddhist freeman, the Ariyas who have 
escaped the fetters of the world, is likened to the flight of 
the white cranes against the cloudy sky. 
We find also among the Psalms of the Brethren veritable 
nature poems : 

Those rocky heights with hue of dark blue clouds, 

Where lies embosomed many a shining tarn 

Of crystal- clear, cool waters, and whose slopes 

The ' herds of Indra ' cover and bedeck . . . 

Fair uplands rain-refreshed, and resonant 

With crested creatures cries antiphonal, 

Lone heights where silent Rishis oft resort . . . 

Free from the crowds of citizens below, 

But thronged with flocks of many winged things, 

The home of herding creatures of the wild . . . 

Haunted by black-faced apes and timid deer, 

Where 'neath bright blossoms run the silver streams : 

Such are the braes wherein my soul delights. 

Another of the poet monks is credited with nine gathas, 
of which one runs : 

When in the lowering sky thunders the storm-cloud *s drum, 
And all the pathways of the birds are thick with rain, 
The brother sits within the hollow of the hills 
Alone, rapt in thought's ecstasy. No higher bliss 

Is given to men than this. 
1.68 



Early Buddhism &* Nature 

While yet another writes : 

Whene'er I see the crane, her clear pale wings 
Outstretched in fear to flee the black storm-cloudy 
A shelter seeking, to safe shelter borne, 
Then doth the river Ajakaranl 

Give joy to me. 
Who doth not love to see on either bank 
Clustered rose-apple trees in fair array, 
Beyond the great cave of the hermitage, 
Or hear the soft croak of the frogs? . . . 

No less characteristic are the rain-songs : 

God rains as 'twere a melody most sweet, 
Snug is my little hut, sheltered, well-roofed. 
The heart of me is steadfast and at peace. 
Now, an it pleaseth thee to rain, god, rain I 

But these are the utterances of individual monks; we 
cannot frankly credit early Buddhism — the teaching of 
Buddha — with the kinship of the wild. The love of 
lonely places is most often for their very loneliness, and 
because there is the most convenient refuge from the 
bustle and temptations of the world, from intercourse 
with worldly men and with women. The lines thus quoted 
ending, 'Such are the braes wherein my soul delights,' 
are followed immediately by the edifying justification 
sounding almost like an excuse : 

For that which brings me exquisite delight 
Is not the strains of string and pipe and drum, 
But when with intellect well-poised, intent, 
I gain the perfect vision of the Norm. 

While he that notes how " all the pathways of the birds 
are thick with rain " claims to be absorbed in the ecstasy 

169 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

of thought. As Mrs Rhys Davids says, the ecstasy 
is here scarcely the product of religious pleasure alone. 
Is not then the ' gentle paganism ' which allows the indi- 
vidual poet anchorite to feel this positive pleasure in the 
scenes and sights of the forests, regarded from the stand- 
point of the Norm, a spiritual weakness? To such as 
yielded thereto, a city life might very well have been 
appointed by way of penance. 

More truly in accord with the monastic will to entire aloof- 
ness is the coldness of the monk Citta Gutta, of whom the 
Visuddhi Magga relates that he dwelt for sixty years in 
a painted cave, before which grew a beautiful rose-chest- 
nut : yet not only had he never observed the paintings on 
the roof of the cave, but he only knew when the tree 
flowered every year, through seeing the fallen pollen and 
the petals on the ground. In the Maha- Parinibbana 
Sutta, too, the Buddha holds up to highest admiration the 
man (himself) who, "being conscious and awake, neither 
sees, nor hears the sound thereof when the falling rain is 
beating and splashing, and the lightnings are flashing 
forth, and the thunderbolts are crashing." 
It is true that Early Buddhist literature abounds with 
many comparisons of the ideal man to an elephant or a 
rhinoceros. The heart of the comparison, to the Buddhist, 
lay in the particularization of the elephant as a solitary 
elephant, and the fact that the rhinoceros is by nature 
solitary. In this way the Buddhists called on higher men 
to leave the market-place, knowing that 

" Great things are done when men and mountains meet 
They are not done by jostling in the street" 

But we cannot credit the Buddhist authors who use these 
metaphors with any special understanding of Nature, 
170 



Early Buddhism @f Nature 

any more than we should the early Christian writers who 
speak of the lamb and the dove. The comparison very 
soon, indeed, becomes ridiculous. " Cultivating kindness, 
equanimity, compassion, deliverance and sympathy, unob- 
structed by the whole world, let him wander alone like a 
rhinoceros,' ' is the constant theme of the Khaggavisana 
Sutta. But this is a false and sentimental view, or at least 
nothing better than the twisting of natural fact to edifying 
ends, for the rhinoceros is a surly beast, and the solitary 
elephant a ' rogue.' Still more is it false, and not " regard- 
ing things as they really are " to pretend for the animals — 
who are not in fact at all emancipate from passion, and 
who do not think about their sins, or practise Asubha 
meditations — the temperament of an ascetic human. The 
pagan innocence of animals and children is in truth very 
far indeed from the Ideal of Early Buddhist monasticism. 
What these metaphors show us is a phase of the common 
Oriental tendency to find in natural objects the symbols of 
general ideas. But they do not yet imply any such sense 
of the unity of life as finds expression in Matsunaga's 
poem on the morning glory, 1 or Whitman's passionate 
confession of belief "in those winged purposes." Even 
the epithets migabhutena cetasd, ' having a heart like the 
wild deer,' and aranna-sannino^ 'having the forest sense 
of things ' — for all their beauty — may not always mean 
all that they seem to say. At least we cannot but doubt 
if those who used these terms realized all that they 
implied. In Zen Buddhism, on the contrary, phrases of 
this sort have a real and deep meaning, for in animals and 
children the inner and outer life are at one, the duality of 
flesh and spirit which afflicts us with the sense of sin is 
not yet felt; the Zen Buddhist does in truth aspire to 
1 See below, p. 256. 

171 



Buddha ®P the Gospel of Buddhism 

recover that unity of consciousness which is asked for in 
the beautiful prayer of Socrates — to make at one the inner 
and outer man — and he knows that to recover the kingdom 
of heaven, the state of Buddhahood, he must become 
again as a little child, he must possess the heart of the 
wild deer; notwithstanding he must also overcome the 
ignorance of which they are not yet aware. But it was 
not in this sense that the early Buddhist ascetics yearned 
for the 'forest sense of things;' or if for some it was 
so, then these individual singers are no longer typical 
exponents of primitive Buddhism, but forerunners of the 
Mahayana and Zen, taught by their forest masters to 
understand the unity of life, hearing already the Sermon 
of the Woods, already breaking through the spiritual 
isolation of the Arahat and Pacceka Buddha. 
That the early Buddhist culture is still far from a true 
intimacy with the Suchness of the world appears in its lack 
of sympathy with human nature. It is impossible to claim 
for a monastic rule which includes as an essential practice 
the Meditation on the Foulness of Things, a real sympathy 
with Nature : it is inconsistent to delight in the ways of 
the wild creatures of the woods, and to turn with loathing 
from the nobility and innocence of men. It is a strange 
view of Nature that regards the human body as "impure, 
malodorous, full of foul matter," an "offensive shape," 
and a " carrion thing," and strives to promote a disgust 
for the healthy flesh by a contemplation of decaying 
corpses. "This body vile," says Sister Vijaya, "doth 
touch me only with distress and shame." * 

1 The morbid aspects of this hot-house cultivation of indifference and 
purity are indicated in Psalms of the Brethren, vv. 316, 1055, and 
almost equally so in vv. 567 jf. See also Visuddhi Magga y ch. vi, 
Warren, Buddhism in Translations , p. 298. 
172 



Early Buddhism ^f Nature 

No one will wish to deny that the truths of early Buddhism 
are true, or that the stress that was laid on Anicca (tran- 
science) and Anatta (no eternal soul), and the thought of 
salvation here and now, constituted a permanent con- 
tribution to our realization of ' things as they really are ; ' 
and we can hardly be too grateful for the condemnation 
of sentimentality as a cardinal sin. But the early 
Buddhists, like so many other enthusiasts, used their share 
of truth for the denial of others : they were so convinced 
of the sorrows of the world that they could not sympathize 
with its joys. In saying this, I do not forget the Sublime 
Mood of Mudita; but I remember that early Buddhist 
literature as a whole is filled with a contempt of the world 
which inevitably precludes a sympathy with its hopes and 
fears. Early Buddhism does not associate itself with the 
hopes and fears of this life : it seeks only to point out the 
haven of refuge from both hope and fear, and its sympathy 
is with the struggles of those who are caught in the toils of 
either. The early Buddhist could not possibly grasp the 
thought that 'The soul of sweet delight can never be defiled.' 
We must not, on the other hand, allow ourselves to carry 
too far this criticism of early Buddhist deficiencies. Let 
us once more remember that this is not a religion for 
laymen, but a rule for monks, and as such, though severe, 
it is reasonable and sane, and well designed to cultivate 
the noble type of character desired. We must also 
remember that Gautama did not stand alone in his 
Puritanism ; this was the intellectual bias of his age, 
and is reflected as much in Brahmanical and Jaina 
as in Buddhist texts, and it survives as a tendency in 
Indian thought to the present day, though only as one 
among others more powerful. The general (not only 
Buddhist) aesthetic of Gautama's age, moreover, was wholly 

173 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

hedonistic ; it was not imagined that music or plastic art 
considered as secular could have any other than a sensuous 
appeal, or considered as religious could subserve a more 
spiritual aim than that of pleasing the gods or fulfilling 
the purposes of the magician. It was also an age of 
highly developed material civilization and, at least 
for those classes where the intellectual movements of 
Atmanism and Buddhism originated, of great, if simple, 
luxury. It was, then, the first natural reaction of the 
thinking mind to escape from the bondage of the senses 
by asceticism, cutting off as it were the hand, and pluck- 
ing out the eye. Amongst many who felt this impulse, 
Gautama was distinguished by moderation. 
This Indian age of asceticism, moreover, we ought to 
regard as the useful bmhmacarya, the severe and spartan 
early education of the future householder, accomplished 
according to the discipline of the final truths Anatta and 
neti, neti. As one of the most severe critics of early 
Buddhism has remarked : " Asceticism and Puritanism are 
almost indispensable means of educating and ennobling a 
race which seeks to rise above its hereditary baseness 
and work itself upward to future supremacy." * In later 
centuries the race 2 that had thus by self-knowledge and 
self-control attained to spiritual manhood, could permit 
to itself a relaxation of the monastic discipline, propor- 
tionate to its growing power to achieve the union of 
renunciation with sweet delight, and to find in work, no- 
work. The future civilization of India, above all its 
wonderful social ideal, was based on the intellectual tapas 
of the Forest-dwellers and the Wanderers of the age of 

1 Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil \ p. 81." 

2 By ' race ' I mean no more than the succession of individuals sharing 
the Indo-Aryan culture. 

174 



Early Buddhism §P Nature 

the Upanishads and of Gautama, and it would ill-become 
us to depreciate that without which the future could not 
have been. 

The early Buddhist ideal considered as such needs no 
justification; it is only as against those who seek to 
establish it as the one and only mode of saving truth, 
and in particular those who speak of the Mahayana and of 
Hinduism as a falling away into superstition and ignorance, 
that we have to point out very unmistakably, that the 
Theravada ideal, if not positively narrow, is at least 
definitely limited. No one pretends that with change there 
did not come both loss and gain ; but no religion has ever 
yet persisted for even a single century unchanged, the 
possibility of such a thing is even contrary to Anicca, and 
the Buddhist Dhamma could no more defend itself from 
growth than any other living seed. Those who would 
cast away the stem and the branches, whether to ' return 
to the vedas' of Brahmanism, or to return to the Theravada 
Dhamma of Gautama may be compared to a man who is 
old in years and experience, and in honourable achievement, 
and yet, remembering the greatness of the sainted teachers 
of his youth, would fain never have departed from their 
feet to deal with good and evil in the world of living men. 
Let us on the contrary recognize that there exists no breach 
of continuity between the old and the new laws, and that 
the Mahayana and the later expansion of Hinduism are 
the very fruit of the earlier discipline. From this point of 
view it becomes of the utmost interest to seek out and 
recognize in early Buddhist thought the unmistakable 
germs which are afterward fully developed in the 
Mahayana, especially the Mahayana of the Zen type, and 

1 which in alliance with Taoist philosophy effected a recon- 
ciliation of religion with the world. Amongst the sources 

175 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

of this wider culture, not the least important are those 
traces of the love of nature, and that tendency to lyrical 
and ballad-form expression which we observe so well 
marked in the Psalms of the Brethren and Sisters, and in 
the Jatakas. 

XIIL BUDDHIST PESSIMISM 
It has often been said, and not altogether without reason, 
that (early) Buddhism is a pessimistic faith. It is to 
Buddha and such as Buddha that Nietzsche refers when 
he exclaims : 

" They meet an invalid, or an old man, or a corpse — and 
immediately they say 'Life is refuted.' " 
Can we agree that Buddhism is pessimistic ? The answer 
is both Yes and No. Human life is of supreme value to 
the Buddhist as the only condition from which the highest 
good can be reached ; hence suicide (the real proof of the 
conviction that life is not worth living) is explicitly and 
constantly condemned by Buddhist scripture as waste of 
opportunity. But we have to recognize that the quality 
of life is very varied, and Buddhism is far from optimistic 
about any and every sort of life, the mere fact of existence. 
Gautama ridicules the mere will to life as much as 
Nietzsche himself despises sensual men ; even the desire 
for rebirth in the highest heavens is spoken of by Buddhists 
as 'low.' The common life of the world, according to 
Gautama, is not worth living — it is no life for an Ariya, 
a gentleman. But on the other hand he puts forward a 
mode of life for higher men which he regards as well 
worth living, and claims that by this life the highest good 
is attainable, and in this conviction that ' Paradise is still 
upon earth ' he is anything but pessimistic. It is true 
that he refuses to regard life as an end in itself; but so 
176 



Buddhist Pessimism 

do Nietzsche and Whitman. We do not call the latter 
pessimistic when he praises death more than life. 

Through me shall the words be said to make death ex- 
hilarating . . . 

Nor will I allow you any more to balk me with what I was 
calling life, 

For ?iow it is conveyed to me that you are the purports 
essential, 

That you hide in these shifting forms of life. . . . 

That you will one day perhaps take control of all. 

In precisely the same way using • Death ' for Nibbana, the 
artist disparages * life ' : 

" For, looking too long upon life, may one not find all this 
to be not the beautiful, nor the mysterious, nor the tragic, 
but the dull, the melodramatic, and the silly : the conspiracy 
against vitality — against both red and white heat? And 
from such things which lack the sun of life it is not 
possible to draw inspiration. But from that mysterious, 
joyous, and superbly complete life which is called Death 
. . . which seems a kind of spring, a blossoming from 
this land and from this idea can come so vast an inspiration, 
that with unhesitating exultation I leap forward to it ; and 
behold, in an instant, I find my arms full of flowers." x 
The first of the Four Ariyan Truths then — which affirms 
the existence of suffering, Dukkha, as the symptom and 
constitutional sickness of individuality, cannot be called 
pessimistic, because it merely states the obvious : we 
know that a conditioned life of eternal happiness is a 
contradiction in terms. 

Moreover, the early Buddhists were very far from miser- 
able ; they rejoiced as those who were healthy amongst the 

1 Gordon Craig, The Art of the Theatre. 

M 177 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

ailing, and had found a remedy for every possible recur- 
rence of illness. 

We read, for example, in the Dhammapada : 
" In perfect joy we live, without enemy in this world of 
enmity . . . among sick men we dwell without sickness 
. . . among toiling men we dwell without toil. . . . The 
monk who dwells in an empty abode, whose soul is full 
of peace, enjoys superhuman felicity, gazing solely on the 
truth." 

It is to be observed, however, and must be admitted, that 
the Buddhist view of ordinary life is lacking in courage. 
The very emphasis laid on Dukkha is false : for it is not 
Dukkha only, but an exactly equal measure of Dukkha 
and Sukha alike, Pain and Pleasure, which is the mark of 
this life. There are indeed many reasons why we cannot 
place the zenith of our being in this world of Pain and 
Pleasure ; but the predominance of Pain over Pleasure 
cannot be one of these. 

Another mark of genuine pessimism — by which I mean 
only ' looking on the dark side of things ' — is the charac- 
teristic Early Buddhist distrust of pleasure. We cannot 
nobly find a ruling principle of life either in seeking to 
avoid pain, or in courting pleasure; but much rather in 
the thought : " I strive not after my happiness, I strive 
after my work." 

The highest state must be without desire, because desire 
implies a lack, and in this sense the superman, the 
Arahat, is by definition passionless. Now this is a state 
which we may best conceive in the manner of Chuang Tzu : 
" By a man without passions I mean one who does not 
permit good and evil to disturb his internal economy, 
but rather falls in with whatever happens, as a matter of 
course, and does not add to the sum of his mortality." 
178 



Buddhist Pessimism 

But the Buddhist is very much disturbed by good and 
evil — he fears pleasure, and he would avoid pain, and the 
whole of the Dhamma is designed to achieve the latter 
end. It is true that saving knowledge must at last 
release the individual from the possibility of pain : " But 
Buddhism was the first to transform that which was 
a mere consequence into a motive, and by conceiving 
emancipation as an escape from the sufferings of existence, 
to make selfishness the mainspring of existence." * This 
is probably the most severe criticism that has anywhere 
been passed on Early Buddhism, and though I think it is 
unfairly comprehensive, it contains some elements of truth. 
It is, of course, otherwise with the Bodhisatta ideal, 
where the individual for an end beyond himself takes 
upon his own shoulders the burden of the world's 
ignorance, and freely spends himself in countless lives 
of supernatural generosity. The Bodhisatta ideal is 
practically identical with that of the Nietzschean Super- 
man, with his ' Bestowing Virtue.' 

But while in certain aspects Early Buddhism has a 
pessimistic character, we must protest against either of 
the assumptions: (i) that the view that ordinary life, a 
mere existence, is relatively worthless, is properly to be 
described as pessimistic, or (2) that Indian religious 
pessimism, real or fancied, has any connexion whatever 
with the supposed unhappy circumstances of Indian life 
or the enervating consequences of the Indian climate. 
As regards the first assumption, it may suffice to indicate 
that the ' optimistic ' Nietzsche pours more scorn on 
1 mere existence ' than is to be found anywhere in 
Buddhism. And as regards the second, it may be 
pointed out — to select but one of many arguments — that 
1 Deussen, The Philosophy of the Upam'shads, p. 341. 

179 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

the so-called pessimistic beliefs have always proceeded 
from the higher classes, who enjoyed the good things of 
this life to the full: if there is a contrast between the 
childish ' optimism ' of the early Vedic hymns, with 
their prayers for many cattle and long life, and the 
' pessimism ' of the Vedanta or of Buddhism, this is a 
result not of a decline in material civilization, but of the 
accumulation of experience. For the Indian view is the 
correct one, that it is not deprivation of the good things 
of this world that leads the wise at last to turn to higher 
thoughts, but rather long experience of their ultimate 
monotony. Desires suppressed breed pestilence : but the 
road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. Eman- 
cipation seeks to avoid a future heaven no less than a 
future hell — had it been prompted by a mere reaction 
for the misery of physical existence, this must have 
created a religion similar to certain aspects of Christianity 
where compensation for the sorrows of this life is expected 
in a heaven of endless delight. 

XIV. A BUDDHIST EMPEROR 
A characteristic story is related in the later legendary 
history of Gautama. It is said that when he was seated 
beneath the Bodhi tree, and near to attain Nibbana, the 
Evil One, failing to shake his purpose in other ways, 
appeared in the guise of a messenger w'ith letters bearing 
the false report that Devadatta — Gautama's cousin and 
constant enemy — had usurped the throne of Kapilavastu, 
and had taken the wives and the goods of Gautama to 
himself and imprisoned his father ; the letters urged him 
to return to restore peace and order. But Gautama 
reflected that Devadatta's action resulted from his malice 
and lust, while the Sakyas, in not defending their king 
1 80 



A Buddhist Emperor 

had shown a cowardly and despicable disposition. Con- 
templating these follies and weaknesses of the natural 
man, his own resolution to attain to something higher 
and better was confirmed in him. 1 

This legend aptly expresses the indifference of Buddhism 
to the order of the world. It is in full accord with this 
point of view that Buddhism has never formulated the 
ideal of a social order of this or that type : its ethic is 
purely individualistic, and places no reliance whatever on 
external regulation. Mere good government cannot lead 
to the Dying Out (Nibbana) of Craving, Resentment, and 
Infatuation : and since the Gospel of Gautama has solely 
to do with the way to that Dying Out, it is not concerned 
with government at all. This position is practically 
identical with that of Jesus, who repudiated any alliance of 
the Kingdom of God with temporal power. In agreement 
with this view, both the father and mother of Gautama, 
and his wife and son, and a host of Sakya princes resigned 
their worldly status and became homeless followers of 
Him-who-has-thus-attained. 

If, however, every ruler who accepted the Buddhist Gospel 
had immediately adopted the homeless life, it would be im- 
possible to speak of Buddhist emperors or kings. We find, 
on the contrary, that ruling princes, Buddhist by education 
or conversion, constantly retained their temporal power, and 
used this power for the propagation of the Dhamma, for the 
support of the Brethren, and for the maintenance of social 
order conformable to Buddhist ethic. History preserves for 
us the names of many such Buddhist kings, who, notwith- 
standing that Buddhism is a Gospel of self-mastery alone, 
sought to improve the order of the world by ruling 
others. It is in this way that the doctrine which was 
1 Beal, Romantic History of Buddha , p. 207 : supra, p. 32. 

l8l 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

originally, not perhaps altogether anti-social, but at least 
non-social, has come to have an influence upon the social 
order. 

We shall gain a good idea of the social influence of 
Buddhism by devoting attention to Asoka Maurya, the 
most famous of the Buddhist rulers of India. Asoka 
succeeded to the throne of Magadha about 270 B.C. and 
received a more formal coronation four years later. The 
first great event in his reign took place eight years later ; 
this was the conquest of Kalinga, a considerable territory 
bordering the east coast, south of the modern Orissa; 
with this addition, his territory embraced the whole of 
India except the extreme south. This conquest involved 
the slaughter of 100,000 persons, while half as many 
again were carried into captivity, and many more 
perished from famine and pestilence. Perhaps the 
spectacle of so much suffering predisposed the Emperor 
to consider with special attention that system of which 
the sole aim was to point out the way of salvation from 
Suffering, Dukkha. 1 At any rate Asoka himself records 
his adhesion to the Buddhist Dhamma in the following 
terms : 

" Directly after the annexation of the Kalingas, began his 
Sacred Majesty's zealous protection of the Dhamma, his 
love of that Dhamma, and his giving instruction therein. 
Thus arose His Sacred Majesty's remorse for having con- 
quered the Kalingas, because the conquest of a country 

1 "Victory," says the Dhammapada^ v. 201, "breeds hatred, for 
the conquered is unhappy." It is worth notice that it has been 
suggested that the study of Buddhism is likely to receive a great 
impetus in the immediate future, because of "its power to restrain 
its adherents from those sanguinary outbreaks of international butchery 
which occur about once in every generation in the West." — Cambridge 
Magazine \ April 24, 19 15. 
182 



A Buddhist Emperor 

previously unconquered involves the slaughter, death, and 
carrying away captive of the people. That is a matter 
of profound sorrow and regret to His Sacred Majesty," 
and thus connecting his conversion with the change of 
attitude toward others, he continues : 
"Thus of all the people who were then slain, done to 
death, or carried away captive in the Kalingas, if the 
hundredth or the thousandth part were to suffer the same 
fate, it would now be matter of regret to His Sacred 
Majesty. Moreover, should any one do him wrong that 
too must be borne with by His Sacred Majesty, if it can 
possibly be borne with. . . . His Sacred Majesty desires 
that all animate beings should have security, self-control, 
peace of mind, and joyousness. . , . And for this purpose 
has this pious edict been written in order that my sons 
and grandsons, who may be, should not regard it as their 
duty to conquer a new conquest. If, perchance, they 
become engaged in a conquest by arms, they should take 
pleasure in patience and gentleness, and regard as (the 
only true) conquest the conquest won by piety. That 
avails for both this world and the next. Let all joy be in 
effort, because that avails for both this world and the next." 
In many other edicts, which were engraved on stone and 
are still extant, Asoka proclaims his Dhamma in great 
detail. This Dhamma is distinctively Buddhist, but it 
differs from the teaching of Gautama in omitting all 
references to the analytic aspect and dwelling exclusively 
on ethics: Nibbana is not even mentioned, and the 
reward of well-doing is to be the Imperial favour in this 
world and well-being in the next, ' the beyond ' — not the 
avoidance of rebirth. The mention of former Buddhas 
together with other details, shows already some develop- 
ment of Mahayanist doctrines. It is thus possible that 

183 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

Asoka made the determination to attain Buddhahood in 
some future life, but more likely he looked forward only to 
a future attainment of Arahatta. 

The edicts are essentially concerned with ethical be- 
haviour; they imply a considerable amount of inter- 
ference with personal liberty, such as we should now call 
'making people good by Act of Parliament.' Asoka 
desires to be a father to his subjects, and speaks with 
parental authority. He lays the greatest stress on re- 
ligious tolerance and on the duty of reverence to those 
whose age or station deserves it ; and strongly inculcates 
the sanctity of animal life. On the other hand there is 
no attempt to abolish capital punishment. Reverence, 
compassion, truthfulness and sympathy are the cardinal 
virtues. 

The most remarkable, far-reaching and permanent effects 
of Asoka's activities are those which resulted from his 
Foreign Missions. This phrase is to be understood in 
the modern evangelical, and not in a political, sense : for 
we find that not content with preaching the Dhamma to 
his own subjects, Asoka dispatched imperial missionaries 
to all other parts of India, to Ceylon, and then to Syria, 
Egypt, Cyrene, Macedonia, and Epirus, and these mission- 
arises together with the Buddhist Dhamma were also 
charged to diffuse a knowledge of useful medicines. It 
is due more to Asoka than to any other individual that 
Buddhism became and long remained the predominant 
religion of India, and indeed of Asia, and up to the 
present day counts more adherents than any other faith. 
The conversion of Ceylon is recorded in the Chronicles of 
Ceylon with a wealth of picturesque detail which is partly 
confirmed by archaeological discoveries in Northern 
India, but cannot be regarded as historical in toto. In 
184 




Plate O 



SANCHI STtJPA AND GATEWAY 
3rd and 2nd century B.C. 



3 8 4 



A Buddhist Emperor 

particular, it is related that Asoka's chief missionary to 
Ceylon was a son named Mahendra, who converted the 
King of Ceylon and 40,000 of his subjects. In order 
that the Princess Anula and other women might also be 
ordained, a return mission was sent to request the dispatch 
of Asoka's daughter Sanghamitta, with a branch of the 
sacred Bodhi tree to be planted in Ceylon. It is claimed 
that the sacred Bo-tree still preserved at Anuradhapura 
in Ceylon, is that same branch, which has become the 
oldest historical tree in the world. The Princess was 
duly ordained by Sanghamitta and became an Arahat. 
In point of fact the conversion of Ceylon must have been 
more gradual than is here indicated, but there is no doubt 
that embassies were exchanged and converts made. The 
Sinhalese — not, of course, the Tamils who occupy a good 
part of the north of the island — have remained Buddhists 
to this day, and for the most part, though not exclusively, 
of the orthodox Hlnayana persuasion. 
We must also think of Asoka as a great administrator 
and a great builder. His Empire embraced almost the 
whole of India and Afghanistan, of which the adminis- 
tration was already highly organized alike for record and 
executive action. With tireless energy Asoka attempted 
the impossible task of personally supervising all the 
affairs of government: "I am never fully satisfied," he 
says, " with my efforts and my dispatch of business." 
The essential character of his rule was a paternal 
despotism. That he successfully ruled so large an 
Empire for forty years is proof of his ability, as the 
words of his edicts are of his strong individuality — which 
has been likened to that of Cromwell and Constantine — 
and practical piety. 
We have already mentioned that the Edicts were engraved 

185 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

on stone, and that many survive. Some of these are 
recorded on monolithic pillars ; by far the finest of these 
is the pillar recently discovered at Sarnath, among the 
monasteries on the site of the old deer-park at Benares, 
where Gautama preached his first sermon. The pillar 
was surmounted by a lion capital (Plate P), with a 
string course bearing a horse, lion, bull, and elephant in 
relief, and the Wheel of the Law, above a bell-shaped 
base of Persian character, such as appears elsewhere in 
contemporary architecture. The whole is of extra- 
ordinarily perfect workmanship only paralleled in finish by 
the accurate fitting of some of the Asokan masonry, and 
the burnished surfaces of some of the rock-cells dedicated 
by Asoka for the use of the Ajivikas : and we must not 
forget the engineering skill implied in the transport and 
erection, often hundreds of miles from the present quarries, 
of monolithic pillars weighing as much as fifty tons. 
Asoka's own capital at Pataliputra, 1 modern Patna, is 
described as follows by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien, 
eight centuries later : 

"The royal palace and halls in the midst of the city, 
which exist now as of old, were all made by spirits which 
he employed, and which piled up the stones, reared the 
walls and gates, and executed the elegant carving and 
inlaid sculpture work in a way which no human hands of 
this world could accomplish." 

1 Excavations on this site are now in progress. 



186 







186 



CAPITAL OF ASOKA COLUMN 

Sarnath, 3rd century B.C. 



PART III : CONTEMPORARY 
SYSTEMS 

/. THE VEDANTA 

THE system of philosophy which is above all the 
philosophy of India is the Vedanta, the 'com- 
pletion ' or * goal ' of the Vedas : and by this term 
Vedanta is to be understood the interpretation of the Upani- 
shads,and of the Vedanta Sutras, according to Sankaracarya 
in the ninth century a.d. and by Ramanuja in the eleventh. 
It will be seen that these synthetic interpretations are long 
post-Buddhist; but that is not the case with the most 
important of the actual Upanishads, viz. the Brihad- 
aranyaka and the Chandogya, which are undoubtedly pre- 
Buddhist. These are likewise the most important of the 
Vedanta scriptures, and they must be the more referred 
to here because some writers have considered that " it is 
the ideas of the Upanishads which by a kind of degenera- 
tion have developed into Buddhism on one side and the 
Samkhya system on the other." 

Just as the Old Testament is superseded by the New, so 
the Upanishads declare the insufficiency of ritual and its 
reward, and substitute for these a religion of the spirit. 
All the Upanishads alike treat of one subject, the doctrine 
of the Brahman or Atman. Very often these are treated 
as synonymous. If or where a distinction is made, then 
the Brahman is the Absolute, and the Atman is that 
Absolute as realized in the individual consciousness ; 
we can then express the fundamental thought of the 
Upanishads by the simple equation 

Brahman = Atman. 

If we should seek a simile for this identity we may 

187 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

find it in the identity of Infinite Space with the space in 
any closed vessel — shatter the bounding walls of the 
vessel, that is to say, the ignorance that maintains our 
seeming individuality, and the identity of space with 
space is patent. " That art Thou " — this is the form the 
equation takes : in the actual language of the Brihad- 
aranyaka, Tat tvatn asi. That Absolute is one and the 
same with whatever in ourselves we must consider as our 
true Self, the unchangeable essence of our being, our spirit. 
What then is the spirit of man ? What am I ? That is a 
question to which, as the Vedanta recognizes, there may 
be many answers. Even the most idealistic Upanishads 
do not start by denying, as Gautama denies, the existence 
of an I, a knowing, perduring subject ; it is only by a 
process of elimination that the thought is reached that 
the Subject is No-thing. Thus, some identify the ego 
with the body, as we still do in everyday parlance, when 
for example, we say * I am cold,' meaning * The body 
is cold.' But seeing that the body visibly changes 
and decays how are we to identify our overwhelming 
consciousness of the eternity and freedom of our being 
with the mortal flesh ? Another answer postulates an 
* Eternal Soul,' a dweller in the body passing from body 
to body: this is the well-known Indian theory of trans- 
migration of an individual — for which, in Buddhism, 
is substituted the transmigration of character. Such 
a soul, if imagined to be freed from corporeal fetters, 
may be likened to the dream consciousness, where the 
bonds of time and space are loosely drawn. Analogous 
to this view is the Christian doctrine of an Eternal 
Soul which passes from Earth to an Eternal Heaven 
or Hell, and it is against such conceptions of the Atman 
that the Anatta theory of Buddhism is directed. A 
188 



The Vedanta 

third view is idealistic, recognizing only one supreme 
soul, wherein there is no duality, "neither shadow of 
turning" nor consciousness of subject and object. This 
view, subject to slight differences of interpretation, forms 
the common philosophic basis of a great part of Eastern 
and Western mysticism. Here the state of the self is 
likened to Deep Sleep. It is this universal Self, one 
without any other, which the individual seeker pressing 
inward to the centre finds in his own consciousness, when 
nothing of himself is left in him. Philosophically, as we 
have said, it is reached by a process of elimination — the 
superposition of attributes, 1 and the successive denial of 
each in turn, as each is found to contradict our conscious- 
ness of timeless being and utter freedom : and thus we 
reach the great Vedantic formula, descriptive of the 
Atman or Brahman as * Not so, not so.' The * soul ' is, 
then, void, No thing, it does not pass from birth to death, 
it has no parts, it is not subject to becoming nor to time, 
but is that timeless Abyss which is now as it was in the 
beginning and ever shall be. To these three stations of 
the soul the later Upanishads add a fourth, which is 
simply so called, The Fourth. 

We have, then, four stations. First is the Waking 
Consciousness of everyday experience : 

1 The full list of these attributes, called Upadhis or individualizing 
determinations, includes (i) all things and relations of the outer world, 
(2) the body, consisting of the gross elements, (3) the Indriyas^ viz., the 
five organs of sense and the corresponding five organs of action, (4) the 
Manas (mind) or A ntahkarana (inner organ) which covers the under- 
standing and conscious will, the unified or seemingly unified principle 
of conscious life, the ' soul ' in a popular sense, and (5) the mukhya 
prana, vital airs, the similarly unified or seemingly unified principle of 
unconscious life. All these are cut away by him who finds the Self, 
which is the Brahman, ' not so, not so.' 

189 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

When the soul is blinded by glamour (may a) 
It inhabits the body and accomplishes actions ; 
By women, food, drink, and many enjoyments, 
It obtains satisfaction in a waking condition} 

In the second station, of Dream-sleep : 

In the dream-state he moves up and down, 
And fashions for himself as god many forms} 

In the third station of Deep Sleep there is no empirical 
consciousness, but an identification with the Brahman. 
This condition corresponds to the ' Eternal Rest ' of 
Western mysticism. This state of liberation is described 
in a beautiful passage of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 
which we transcribe here as an example of the pre- 
Buddhist Vedantic literature : 

" But like as in yon space a falcon or an eagle, after he 
has hovered, wearily folds his pinions and sinks to rest, 
thus also hastens the Spirit to that condition in which, 
sunk to sleep, he feels no more desire, nor beholds any 
more dreams. That is his (true) form of being, wherein 
he is raised above longing, free from evil and from fear. 
For, like as one whom a beloved woman embraces, has 
no consciousness of what is without or what is within, so 
also the Spirit, embraced by the Self of Knowledge (the 
Brahman), has no consciousness of what is without or 
what is within. That is his form of being, wherein his 
longing is stilled, himself is his longing, he is without 
longing, and freed from grief. Then the father is not 

1 Kaivalya Upanishad (12). This is living on the surface, empirical 
experience. 

2 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4, 3. Compare the state of the creative 
artist or personal god. 

190 



The Vedanta 

father, nor the mother mother, nor the worlds worlds, nor 
the gods gods, nor the Vedas Vedas . . . then is he 
unmoved by good, unmoved by evil, then has he van- 
quished all the torments of the heart. . . . Yet is he a 
knower, even though he does not know ; since for the 
knower there is no interruption of knowing ; because he 
is imperishable. . . . He stands in the tumultuous ocean 
as beholder, alone and without a second, he whose world 
is the Brahman. This is his highest goal, this is his 
highest joy, this is his highest world, this is his highest 
bliss. ,, " 
He who is not thus liberated, but is still subject to desire, 

After he has received 1'eward 
For all that he has here performed^ 
He comes back from that other world 
Into the world of deeds below. 

But " he who is without desire, free from desire, whose 
desire is stilled, who is himself his desire, his vital spirits 
do not depart ; but Brahman is he and into Brahman he 
resolves himself " : 

When every passion utterly is gone ', 

That lurks and nestles in the heart of 'man ;, 

Then finds this mortal immortality \ 

Then has he reached the Brahman, the Supreme. 

Of this liberation, the natural fruit in this life is asce- 
ticism, and thus — 

" This knew those of old, when they longed not for 
descendants, and said : * Why should we wish indeed 
for descendants, we whose self is the universe ? ' And 
they ceased from the longing after children, from the 
longing after possessions and from the longing after 

191 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

the world, and wandered forth as beggars. For longing 
for children is longing for possessions, and longing for 
possessions, is longing for the world ; for one like the 
other is merely longing. But He, the Atman, is Not 
thus, not thus" 

There is another station, called the Fourth, transcending 
alike Non-being and Being. This station is indicated in 
the * Om ' logion, and corresponds to the Western con- 
ception of Eternal Rest and Eternal Work as simultaneous 
aspects of the Unity. Precisely how this station differs 
from Deep Sleep will be apparent from the verses of 
Gaudapada : 

Dreams and sleep belong to the two first, 
A dreamless sleep is the possession of the third, 
Neither dreams nor sleep does he who knows it 
Asciibe to the fourth. 

The dreamers knowledge is false, 
The sleeper knows nothing at all. 
Both go astray ; where all this vanishes 
There the fourth state is reached. 

It is in the beginningless illusion of the world 

That the soul (indeed) sleeps : when it (in sooth) awakes. 

Then there awakes in it the eternal, 

Timeless and free from dreams and sleep alike, x 

These lines are post-Buddhist, but represent a perfectly 
logical development of the conception of the Brahman 
indicated as eternal knower, without object, in the phrase 
just quoted, " Yet is he a knower, even though he does 
not know ; since for the knower there is no interruption 

1 Here the usage of the symbols of waking and sleeping is reversed — 

the true awakening is a sleeping to the world. 

192 



The Vedanta 

of knowing, because he is imperishable." This phrase, it 
may be noticed, vividly recalls the saying of the Buddha 
regarding the after-death state of him who has attained 
Nibbana : " But to say of a Brother who has been so set 
free by insight : * He knows not, he sees not/ that were 
absurd ! " 1 

The object of the Upanishad teaching, then, is to remove 
our ignorance, for ignorance lies at the root of desire, 
and desire, implying lack, is a mark of imperfection, and 
cannot characterize the highest state. The knowledge 
which is opposed to ignorance, as light to darkness, 
consists in the realization of the unity of the one which 
is not so, not so. This knowledge is not the means of 
liberation, it is liberation itself. 

He who attains to the realization ' I am the Brahman ' — 
not, of course, who merely makes the verbal statement 
— knowing himself to be the totality of all that is, has 
nothing to desire or fear, for there is nought else to fear 
or to desire, nor will he injure any being, for no one 
injures himself by himself. He who has reached this 
understanding continues to exist, for the consequences 
of his former deeds are still valid in the empirical world 
of causality ; but life can no longer deceive him. His 
former works are burnt away in the fire of knowledge. 
He knows that his body is not ' his ' body nor his works 
1 his ' works ; and when he dies, his Self goes nowhere 
where it is not already, nor may he ever again be subject 
to the limitations of individual existence. 
As rivers run and in the deep 
Lose name and form and disappear, 
So goes, from name and form released, 
The wise man to the deity. 
1 cf. suj>ra, p. 124. 

N 193 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

Here the Buddhist thinker must ever bear in mind that 
'the deity,' in passages like this, refers to the Brahman 
which is ' not so,' and not to any personal god : precisely 
as the Buddhist himself is constrained by the necessity of 
language to symbolize Nibbana as ' Bliss ' and the like. 
Of Brahman and Buddhist it may well be said, as it may 
be said of all religions in the deepest application — 

Thou goest thine, and I go mine — 

Many ways we wend ; 
Many days and, many ways. 

Ending in one end. 

Many a wrong, and its curing song : 
Many a word, and many an inn : 

Room to roam, but only one home 
For all the world to win. 

II. sAmkhya 

There exists another system, the Samkhya, not, like the 
Upanishads, the creation of a school, but known to us as 
formulated by one sage, of the name of Kapila ; from whom 
most likely the name of Kapilavatthu, the city of Buddha's 
birth and youth, is derived. It is not without significance 
in this connexion that Buddhism " seems to have arisen 
in a quarter where Samkhya ideas were dominant, and 
to have borrowed very considerably from them ; " and the 
fact that the Samkhya is really the chief source of Bud- 
dhist modes of thought, gives to this system considerable 
importance for our study. By contrast with the monistic 
idealism of the Upanishads, which define the Atman or 
Purusha (spirit) as the sole reality, the Samkhya is an 
explicit dualism, postulating the eternal reality of Purusha 
and Prakriti, spirit and nature ; the Samkhya moreover 
194 



Samkhya 

speaks of a plurality of Purushas or spirits, whereas the 
Purusha of Vedantic thought is one and indivisible. 
Nature is the naturally undifferentiated equilibrium of 
the three qualities sattva, rajas, and tamas, 'goodness, 
passion, and inertia'; 1 evolution results from the proximity 
of spirit. The first product of differentiation is buddhi, 
1 reason ' ; then ahamkara, ' the conceit of individuality ' ; 
and from this on the one hand the five subtle and five 
gross elements, and on the other manas, * mind ' or 
1 heart,' and the outer and inner organs of sense. These, 
together with soul constitute the twenty-five categories 
of the Samkhya. That which migrates from body to 
body is not the spirit, for this is unconditioned, but the 
characteristic body, the individual 'soul,' consisting of 
buddhi, ahamkara, manas and the inner and outer organs 
of sense, bearing the impressions {samskaras, vasanas) of 
its previous deeds, and obtaining a new physical body in 
precise accordance with their moral worth. 
The individual Purusha — the jiva — is unaffected, even 
in its state of bondage ; even its apparent consciousness 
of subject and object is a delusion. It is the ' inner 
man,' the ' soul ' — antahkarana* viz. buddhi, ahamkara 
and manas — moved by the attached spirit shining all 
unconsciously upon it, which falsely imagines itself to 
be an ego ; in this complex ' soul ' arise conceptions of 
pleasure and pain, love and hate ; these it projects upon 
the Spirit or Self, which it thus knows'only through a glass, 
darkly. Such a vicious circle of life is perpetuated for 
ever, only temporarily interrupted by the cosmic rhythm 
of involution and evolution, evolution and involution, in 
successive aeons (kalpas). But some few there are who, 
after many births, attain to saving knowledge : with the 
1 More strictly, the extremes and the mean. 

J 95 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

axe of reason is felled the tree of the egoism of the 
* soul,' and the axe too being cast away, the bond of 
Spirit and Matter is severed — the Spirit is evermore 
single {kaivalyd) no more involved in the wheel of birth 
and death (samsara). Whoever fully understands this 
point of view, will be prepared to understand the cardinal 
doctrines of Buddhism, which differ chiefly from those 
of the Samkhya in their tacit denial of Purusha, or 
perhaps we should rather say, in their refusal to discuss 
aught but the nature of the 'soul' and the practical 
means of deliverance; Buddhism and the Samkhya, with 
the Vedanta no less, are agreed that pleasure and pain 
are alike suffering — for the impermanence of any pleasure 
constitutes an eternal skeleton at the feast. 

///. YOGA 

Cease but from thine own activity, steadfastly fixing thine Eye 
upon one point. — Behmen 

A third system, which was well known, though not yet 
expounded in full detail before the time of Buddha, is 
that of Yoga, or Union. This is a discipline designed to 
secure the deliverance contemplated in the Samkhya. It 
has a practical aspect, which is partly ethical and partly 
physiological; and a 'kingly 5 part, consisting of the 
three phases of meditation, dkarana, dhyana, and samddhi, 
in which by concentration of thought the distinction of 
subject and object is overreached, and the soul becomes 
aware of its eternal separateness from reason (buddhi) 
and its conformations (samskaras), and becomes for ever 
single (kaivalya). The system differs from the Samkhya 
and from early Buddhism in that it is not atheistic — that 
is to say, it recognizes an Overlord (Isvara), who is 4\ 
196 



Yoga 

particular and exalted purusha, or individual soul, by 
whom the devotee may be aided on the way of emanci- 
pation; but this Isvara is by no means essential to the 
system, and is but one of the many objects of meditation 
which are suggested to the student. The spiritual exercises 
of the Buddhist contemplative are taken over almost 
unchanged from Brahmanical sources, and for this reason 
it is not necessary to repeat here what has already been 
said on this subject; but it may be useful to illustrate 
from a quite distinct source what is the significance 
of accomplished Yoga, in the following passage from 
Schelling's Philosophical Letters upon Dogmatism and 
Criticism : 

"In all of us there dwells a secret marvellous power 
of freeing ourselves from the changes of time, of with- 
drawing to our secret selves away from external things, 
and of so discovering to ourselves the eternal in us in the 
form of unchangeability. This presentation of ourselves 
to ourselves is the most truly personal experience, upon 
which depends everything that we know of the supra- 
sensual world. This presentation shows us for the first 
time what real existence is, whilst all else only appears to 
be. It differs from every presentation of the sense in its 
perfect freedom, whilst all other presentations are bound, 
being overweighted by the burden of the object. . . . 
This intellectual presentation occurs when we cease to be 
our own object, when, withdrawing into ourselves, the 
perceiving image merges in the self-perceived. At that 
moment we annihilate time and duration of time : we are 
| no longer in time, but time, or rather eternity itself (the 
1 timeless) is in us. The external world is no longer an 
object for us, but is lost in us." 

i 

i 9 7 






Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

IV. BUDDHISM AND BRAHMANISM 
All writers upon Buddhism are faced with the difficulty 
to explain in what respect the teaching of Gautama differs 
from the higher phases of Brahman thought. It is true 
that the distinction appeared clear enough to Gautama 
and his successors; but this was largely because the 
Brahmanism against which they maintained their polemic 
was after all merely the popular aspect of Brahmanism. 
From a study of the Buddha's dialogues it would appear 
that he never encountered a capable exponent of the 
highest Vedantic idealism, such a one as Yajnavalkhya 
or Janaka ; or if Alara is to be considered such, Gautama 
took exception to the Atmanistic terminology rather than 
its ultimate significance. It appeared to Gautama and 
to his followers then and now that the highest truths — 
especially the truth embodied by Buddhists in the phrase 
An-atta, no-soul — lay rather without than within the 
Brahmanical circle. 

Many times in the history of religions has the Protestant, 
having thus easily carried the outer defences of an Orthodox 
faith, believed that there remained no other citadel. It 
may be, on the other hand, that Gautama knew of the 
existence of such a Brahman citadel — where the truth 
was held, that the Atman is ' not so, not so ' — but regarded 
the surrounding city as so hopelessly habituated to errors 
of thought and action, as to determine him rather to build 
upon a new site than to join hands with the beleaguered 
garrison. Perhaps he did not take into account that all 
such garrisons must be small, and did not foresee their 
final victory. However this may be, it is at least certain 
that at this period there existed no fundamental doctrinal 
opposition of Brahmanism and Buddhism ; but Gautama, 
198 



Buddhism &* Brahmanism 

and some other Kshattriyas, and some Brahmans were 
alike engaged in one and the same task. 
At first sight nothing can appear more definite than the 
opposition of the Buddhist An-atta, * no-Atman,' and the 
Brahman Atman, the sole reality. But in using the same 
term, Atta or Atman, Buddhist and Brahman are talk- 
ing of different things, and when this is realized, it will be 
seen that the Buddhist disputations on this point lose 
nearly all their value. It is frankly admitted by Professor 
Rhys Davids that 

" The neuter Brahman is, so far as I am aware, entirely 
unknown in the Nikayas, and of course the Buddha's idea 
of Brahma, in the masculine, really differs widely from 
that of the Upanishads." 1 

There is nothing, then, to show that the Buddhists ever 
really understood the pure doctrine of the Atman, which 
is * not so, not so.' The attack which they led upon the 
idea of soul or self is directed against the conception of 
the eternity in time of an unchanging individuality ; of the 
timeless spirit they do not speak, and yet they claim to have 
disposed of the theory of the Atman ! In reality both 
sides were in agreement that the soul or ego (manas, 
ahamkara, vijnana, etc.) is complex and phenomenal, 
while of that which is ' not so ' we know nothing. 
Buddhist dialectic, by the simile of the chariot, and so 

i Dialogues of the Buddha^ i, p. 298 : C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Buddhism t 
p. 57 — and yet in the latter place it is claimed that " it is the Atmanist 
position against which the Buddhist argument is drawn up." It is just 
this position which Gautama does not refer to. The parting of Gautama 
and Alara represents, perhaps, the greatest tragedy recorded in religious 
history. It has been remarked with perfect justice by A. Worsley : 
" It is possible that had Gautama chanced to meet, in his earliest 
wanderings, two teachers of the highest truth, the whole history of the 
Old World might have been changed." — Concepts of Monism^ p. 197. 

199 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

forth, is directed to show that things are ' Empty ' ; when 
their component elements are recognized there is no 
remainder, but only the 'Void'; he who realizes this, 
attains Nibbana and is freed. But we cannot distinguish 
this 'Void* or 'Abyss' from that Brahman which is 'No 
thing.' 

It is true that the Vedanta speaks of many Atmans, three 
or even five, and also that the jivatman or 'unconditioned 
Self in the individual' is sometimes confused with the 
individual ego or discriminating subject 1 (ahamkara or 
vijfiana — as if we should attribute individuality to a 
portion of space enclosed in a jar, forgetting that space is 
' traceless ' and the jar alone has ' marks ') ; but the strictly 
non-animistic view is maintained in many other and more 
important passages. 2 Either Gautama was only ac- 
quainted with popular Brahmanism, or he chose to ignore 
its higher aspects. At any rate, those whom he defeats 
in controversy so easily are mere puppets who never put 
forward the doctrine of the unconditioned Self at all. 
Gautama meets no foeman worthy of his steel, and for 
this reason the greater part of Buddhist polemic is un- 
avoidably occupied in beating the air. This criticism 
applies as much to modern as to ancient exposition. 
We are told, for example, that Buddhism differs from 
Brahmanism in its refutation of the " then current pessi- 
mistic idea that salvation could not be reached on earth, 
and must therefore be sought for in rebirth in heaven." 3 
But if this idea was ' current ' as a motif of the sacrificial 
ritual, it certainly was not maintained by the Brahman 
idealists. ' That art thou ' denotes a present condition, 

1 Chandogya^ 7, and Brihadaranyaka y 4, 3, 7 f., etc. 

2 Chandogya^ 8, 7-12, and Taittiriya> 2. 

3 T. W. Rhys Davids, Early Buddhism^ p. 55. 
200 



Buddhism 8f Brahmanism 

and not a state to be reached after death. " To-day also," 
says the Brihadaranyaka{\, 4, 10), " he who knows this — 
I am Brahman — becomes this universe; and even the 
gods have no power to prevent his so becoming ; for he 
is its Atman." In the face of utterances such as these we 
cannot admit the suggestion that the doctrine of salvation 
here and now was " never clearly or openly expressed in 
pre-Buddhist thought." * 

We also hear that "in all Indian thought except 
the Buddhist, souls, and the gods who are made in 
imitation of souls, are considered as exceptions," and 
that "to these spirits is attributed a Being without 
Becoming, an individuality without change, a beginning 
without an end." 2 It is difficult to understand how any- 
one acquainted with Indian thought * except the Buddhist ' 
can make a statement of this kind. For it is clearly 
stated by Sankara that the word ' Indra ' means " not an 
individual, but a certain position (sthana-visesha), some- 
thing like the word * General ' ; whoever occupies the 
position bears the name." 3 This view is taken for 
granted in popular Hindu literature ; it is commonly 
held, for example, that Hanuman is to be " the Brahma" 
of the next aeon. Moreover in the pre - Buddhist 
Upanishads the position of the personal gods is no more 
privileged than it is in Buddhism ; precisely as in 
Buddhism they are represented as standing in need of, 
and capable of receiving, saving knowledge, and in this 
respect they have no advantage over men. 4 Would it 
be possible to point to any Hindu text claiming for any 
personal deity as such a beginning without an end ? And 

1 T. W. Rhys Davids, Early Buddhism, p, 74. 

2 Ibid. p. 55 (italics mine). 

3 Deussen, System of the Veddnta, p. 69. * Chdndogya, 8, 7/ 

20I 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

if such texts could be discovered, could they be regarded 

as representing the Vedanta ? Most likely, in making the 

statements above quoted, modern exponents of Buddhism 

have confused the position of the Vedic deities (devas) 

in the Vedanta with the theism which is a subsequent 

development — analogous to the theistic developments in 

Buddhism itself — where individual gods (Ishvaras) appear 

as symbolical representatives of the Atman, taking the 

forms that are imagined by their worshippers. 

Buddhists lay considerable stress upon the refusal of 

Gautama to allow speculation on the after-death state 

of those who attain Nibbana, a refusal based on grounds 

of expediency. But there is nothing peculiar to Buddhism 

in the refusal to speculate, only in the Vedanta it is not 

based on ' practical ' grounds, but on the ground of the 

evident futility of any such inquiry, for, as the Sufis say, 

" this is too high for our limited and contingent being." 

Sankara, for example, preserves an old story, to the effect 

that a man of the name of Bahva was questioned by 

Vashkali on the nature of the Brahman, and that he kept 

silence. Being questioned a second and a third time, at 

last he replied : * I teach you, indeed, but you do not 

understand ; this Brahman is silence.' For that Atman 

of which it is said ' That art thou ' is neither the body nor 

the individual ' soul ' ; it is not an object of knowledge, 

but like the future state of the Arahat it lies on the other 

side of experience, invisible, unutterable, and unfathomable. 

That the Brahman cannot be known is again and again 

affirmed in the Upanishads : 

That to which no eye penetrates, nor speech, nor thought, 

Which remains unknown, and we see it not, how can 

instruction therein be given to us? 1 

1 Kena Upanishad % 
202 



Buddhism dP Brahmanism 

Not by speech, not by thought, not by sight is he compre- 
hended, 
He is I by this word is he comprehended, and in no other way? 

Much confusion still exists amongst exponents of Bud- 
dhism as to what the doctrine of the Atman really 
signifies. The formula of identity, 'Thou art thou,' is 
hopelessly distorted by Mrs Rhys Davids when she 
writes : 

" The antuatta argument of Buddhism is mainly and 
consistently directed against the notion of a soul, which 
was not only a persistent, unchanging, blissful, trans- 
migrating, superphenomenal being, but was also a being 
wherein the supreme Atman or world soul was immanent, 
one with it in essence, and as a bodily or mental factor 
issuing its fiat." 2 

This confusion does not belong to the Vedanta as under- 
stood by the Vedantins. Buddhists have perhaps always 
made the mistake of underrating the intelligence of their 
opponents. We can only say that the high intrinsic value 
of Buddhist thought does not demand a spurious exalta- 
tion achieved by such comparison with merely popular 
or inconsistent forms of Brahmanism. The best must be 
compared with the best if the best is to be known. 
Buddhists very likely would point to passages such as 

1 Kathaka Upanishad, 6, 12, 13. 

2 C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Buddhist Psychology, 19 15, p. 31. The Atman 
is precisely that which does not transmigrate. The ' fiat ' seems to refer 
to the conception of the Brahman as inner guide (antarydmin) and 
of the universe as the result of his command {prasdsanam\ e.g. in 
Brihaddranyaka, 3, 8, 9. But the language is in this case misunder- 
stood. The ' inner guide ' is the categorical imperative, the highest 
form of conscience, and with this we may compare the Buddhist 
sanction ' because of Nibbana ' ; while the ' command ' is that suchness 
(tattva) whereby everything becomes as it becomes. 

203 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Bhagavad Gztd, ii, 22 — "As a man lays aside outworn 
garments and takes others that are new, so the Body- 
Dweller puts away unborn bodies and goes to others that 
are new" — as animistic, notwithstanding that it is con- 
stantly asserted throughout the same chapter that That 
" is never born and never dies." But Buddhists also are 
compelled to make use of current phraseology, and even 
though they do not mean to speak of the transmigration 
of a soul, they cannot avoid saying that when some one 
dies, ' he ' is reborn in a new life, and in the Pitakas " we 
seem to see a belief in transmigration of a passing soul, 
just as much as we see it in the books of animistic 
creeds." * Buddhaghosha comments on this : " It would 
be more correct not to use popular modes of stating the 
case," and " we must just guard ourselves " from supposing 
that these modes express fact. The difficulties of lan- 
guage were the same for Buddhists and Brahmans ; and 
the same allowance must be made for both. 
We are told again that those Upanishads which are 
ranked as the oldest " show a naif animism : those 
ranked later reveal thought attained to relative 
maturity." 2 This is a complete inversion. It is true, 
indeed, that there are still many animistic passages in 
the old Upanishads ; but the formulas ' Not so, not so,' 
and ' That art thou,' taken together, represent the highest 
attainment of Indian thought ; and the later Upanishads 
show, not an advance due to the absorption of Buddhist 
ideas, but a reaction in favour of ritual and realistic 
thought 3 — a sort of High Church development not 
without parallels in Buddhism itself. 

1 C. A. F. Rhys Davids, Buddhism^ p. 137. 

2 Rhys Davids, Dialogues of the Buddha^ vol. ii, p. 48. 

3 Deussen, Philosophy of the Upanishads \ pp. 64, 65, 171 172. 
204 



Buddhism & Brahmanism 

Professor Rhys Davids says again " the highest teaching 
current before the Buddha, and still preserved in the 
pre-Buddhist Upanishads, was precisely about union with 
Brahma " ; we do not know how this statement is to be 
reconciled with the admission already cited that "the 
Buddha's idea of Brahma, in the masculine, really differs 
widely from that of the Upanishads." * 
The ' further shore ' is a symbol of salvation used by 
both parties ; in the Tevijja Sutta Gautama suggests 
that it is employed by the Brahmans to mean union with 
Brahma (in the masculine), whereas he himself means 
Arahatta. If he really understood the heart of the 
Atmanist position in this manner, it proves that he spoke 
without knowledge ; if he assumed that this was the 
Brahman view for purposes of argument, he was guilty 
of deliberate dishonesty. 

The latter view should not be entertained. But it is 
undeniable that Gautama's dialogue is largely determined 
by controversial necessity. 2 The compilers of the Dia- 
logues had to represent the Buddha as victorious in 
argument, and they succeed by setting up a dummy which 
it is easy to demolish, while the object of nominal attack, 
the Atman theory, is never attached. Gautama con- 
stantly accuses others of eel-wriggling, but in the Dia- 
logues he adopts the same method himself. The neuter 
Brahman is ' quietly ignored,' and words are interpreted 
in new senses. In particular, the word atta (Atman) is 
used in a different sense from that of the Brahman 
atmanists, and thus an easy victory is secured by 
' thinking of something else.' The coining of the term 
An-atta to imply the absence of a perduring individuality 

1 Dialogues of the Buddha^ vol. ii, p. 298. 

2 As indicated also by Mrs Rhys Davids, J.R.A.S. (1903), p. 591. 

205 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

is a triumph of ingenuity, but it should not blind us to 
the fact that the perduring Atman of the Brahmans was 
not an individuality at all. 

It may readily be granted that Buddhist thought is far 
more consistent than the thought of the Upanishads. 
The Upanishads are the work of many hands and extend 
over many centuries ; amongst their authors are both 
poets and philosophers. The Buddhist Dhamma claims 
to be the pronouncement of a single rationalist, and to 
have but one flavour. Gautama propounds a creed and 
a system, and it is largely to this fact that the success of 
his missionary activities was due. The Upanishads do 
not formulate a creed, though they constantly revert to 
the thought of unity; it is with Sankara, or Ramanuja, 
and not with the authors of the Upanishads that we must 
compare Gautama, if we would see a contrast of con- 
sistency with consistency. 

No one will assert that the Upanishads exhibit a consistent 
creed. But the explanation of their inconsistencies is 
historical and leaves the truth of their ultimate conclusions 
quite untouched. Gautama's Dhamma purports to be the 
considered work of a single individual, and it would be 
strange indeed if it failed to attain consistency; the 
Upanishads are the work of many minds, and a com- 
pendium of many thoughts. In other words, the literature 
of Indian thought, apart from Buddhism as interpreted by 
Buddhists, exhibits a continuous development, and knows 
no acute crises; or rather, the real crises — such as the 
identification of all gods as one, and the development of 
the doctrines of emancipation and transmigration — are 
not determined by names and dates, they were not announced 
as the Dharma of any one teacher, and they are only 
recognized in retrospection. Here there is a gradual 
206 



Buddhism & Brahmanism 

process of * thinking aloud,' wherein by stripping the self 
of veil after veil of contingency there is nothing left but 
the Abyss which is ' not so, not so,' the ' Ground ' of unity. 
From animism to idealism there is direct development, 
and it is for this reason that we meet with primitive 
terminologies invested with a new significance ; moreover 
the old strata persist beneath the newest layers, and thus 
it is not only primitive terms, but also primitive thoughts 
which persist in the great complex that we speak of as 
Brahmanism. But this does not mean that the highest of 
these thoughts is primitive, it means only that the historical 
continuity of thought is preserved in the final system, 
and that system remains adapted to the intelligence of 
various minds. Sankara, writing long afterward, and 
looking back on this development as it had so far proceeded, 
very clearly perceived this complexity of thought in the 
Upanishads, and explained their inconsistencies and con- 
tradictions by the brilliant generalization in which the 
scriptural teachings are divided into absolute or esoteric 
truth [para vidyd), and relative or exoteric truths (apard 
vidya). With this clue in our hands we are able to regard 
the whole Aupanishadic literature as a process of thought, 
culminating in certain well-defined formulae, and we can 
distinguish the poetic and symbolic nature of many other 
passages which do not the less refer to truth because they 
speak in parables. The necessities of controversy may 
have prevented the Early Buddhists from taking any such 
extended view of their * opponent's ' teachings ; or it may 
be that with the best will, it would have been impossible so 
early and so close to the actual development to synthesize 
the whole body of Indian speculation. However this may 
be, we find in point of fact that the essential thought of 
the Upanishads is never grasped by the Early Buddhists, 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

and is sometimes but obscurely apprehended by modern 
exponents. 

In Buddhism great stress is laid on the doctrine of the 
Mean, both from the standpoint of ethics and of truth. 
In the latter case it is, as usual, the phenomenal world 
alone which comes under discussion : Gautama repudiates 
the two extreme views, that everything is, and that every- 
thing is not, and substitutes the thought that there exists 
only a Becoming. 1 It is due to Gautama to say that the ab- 
stract concept of causality as the fundamental principle of 
the phenomenal world is by him far more firmly grasped 
and more clearly emphasized than we find it in the early 
Upanishads ; nevertheless the thought and the word 
' Becoming ' are common to both, and both are in agreement 
that this Becoming is the order of the world, the mark of 
organic existence, from which Nibbana, or the Brahman 
(according to their respective phraseology) alone is 
free. 

Where a difference of outlook appears is in the fact that the 
Buddha is content with this conclusion, and condemns all 
further speculation as undefying ; and thus, like Sankara, 
he excludes for ever a reconciliation of eternity and time, 
of religion with the world. 

The same result is reached in another way by those 
Vedantists of the school of Sankara who developed the 
doctrine of Maya in an absolute sense 2 to mean the absolute 
nonentity of the phenomenal world, contrasted with the 
only reality of the Brahman which alone is. This is one 
of the two extreme views rightly repudiated by Gautama, 
but there is agreement to this extent that both Gautama 
and the Mayavadins reject the unreal world of Becoming, 

1 Samyutta Nikaya^ xxii, 90, 16. 

2 Svetasvatara Upanishad> 4, 9-10. 
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Buddhism and Brahmanism 

either because it is inseparable from Evil, or simply 
because it is unreal. 

But the interpretation of the term Maya to signify the 
absolute nonentity of the phenomenal world, if it belongs 
to the Vedanta at all, 1 is comparatively late ; and even in 
the Rig Veda we find another thought expressed, in which 
the whole universe is identified with the * Eternal Male,' 2 
afterward a recognized symbol of the Atman. The same 
idea finds many expressions in the Upanishads, notably in 
the saying, ' That art thou.' Here in place of, or side 
by side with the thought, ' Not so, not so, 5 we have the 
equally true consideration of totalistic philosophy, that 
there is No thing which That Brahman is not : That Brah- 
man, which is No thing, is at the same time All things. 
To dismiss the world of Becoming as a simple nonentity, 
is a false extreme, as rightly pointed out alike by Gautama, 
and in Isa Upanishad, 12. It is quite true that things 
have no self-existence as such, for Becoming never stops ; 
but the process of Becoming cannot be denied, and as it 
cannot have a beginning, so it cannot have an end. 
There is thus asserted from two points of view an irre- 
concilable opposition of Becoming and Being, Samsdra 
and Nirvana, This and That. Over against these 
extremes there appears another doctrine of the Mean, 
entirely distinct from that of Gautama which merely 
asserts that Becoming, and not either Being nor non- 

1 Which is to be doubted. The conception of the absolute nonentity 
of the phenomenal world is entirely contrary to many passages in 
Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya, as well as to the Brahma Sutra, 1, 2, 
which asserts that ' Everything is Brahman.' It is not the ' world,' but 
the extension of the world in time and space — the contraction and 
identification into variety — which constitutes Maya. This is the 
Vedanta according to Rdmanuja. 

2 Rig Veda, x, 90-2. 

o 209 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

Being is the mark of this world. This other Mean asserts 
that the Sole Reality, the Brahman, subsists, not merely 
as not-Becoming, but also as Becoming: not merely as 
the unregistrable, but also as that of which our registra- 
tion is and must be imperfect and incomplete. 
In truth, there are two forms of Brahman, that is to say — 

" The formed and the unformed, the mortal and the 

immortal. 
The abiding and the fleeting, the being and the 

beyond" 1 

The Brahman is not merely nirguna, in no wise, but also 
sarvaguna, ' in all wise ; ' and he is saved — attains Nir- 
vana — knows the Brahman — who sees that these are one 
and the same, that the two worlds are one. 
Empirical truth (apara vidya) is then not absolutely un- 
true, but merely relatively true, while the absolutely true 
(para vidya) embraces and resumes all relative truth ; 
seen from the standpoint of our empirical consciousness 
it is veritably the Real that is reflected through the door- 
ways of our five or six senses, and takes the forms of our 
imagination. Here the phenomenal world is not without 
significance, but has just so much significance as the degree 
of our enlightenment allows us to discover in it. " If the 
doors of perception were cleansed everything would 
appear to man as it is, infinite." 

From this point of view the doctrine of A vidya or 
Maya, ignorance or glamour, does not and should not 
assert the absolute nonentity and insignificance of the 
world, but merely that as we see it empirically, extended 
in the order of space, time and causality, it has no static 

1 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad^ 2, 3, 1. 
2IO 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

existence as a thing in itself : our partial vision is false in 
so far, and only in so fa? •, as it is partial. 
This position is obscured in Buddhism, and likewise in 
the system of Sankara,-by the emphasis which is laid 
on Becoming as a state to be avoided; and this hedonistic 
outlook which finds logical expression in monasticism 
and puritanism has occupied the too exclusive attention 
of modern students. Too exclusive, for it is not this 
one-sided view of life, but the doctrine of the identity of 
this world and that, which can and does afford the key to 
the historical development of the Indian culture, the most 
remarkable characteristic of which appears in a general 
apprehension of the indivisibility of the sensuous and the 
spiritual. 

Another, and ethical Mean is put forward by Gautama as 
the Middle Path between extremes of self-mortification 
and self-indulgence. But here again it must be recog- 
nized that this is not really a middle path, and that it 
remains, in contrasting the bright state of the Wanderer 
with the dark state of the Householder, if not at all 
morbidly ascetic, nevertheless unmistakably a rule of 
abstention, rather than moderation. Certain actions and 
certain environments are condemned as bad in themselves. 
Gautama hardly contemplates the possibility that freedom 
may also be attained by those who are still engaged in 
worldly activities, nor that this freedom must depend on 
absence of motif rather than absence of activity; the 
J nana Marga is for him the only way. 1 
It is justly pointed out by Oldenberg that " there was 

1 Not only does he not perceive that the wish to avoid Dukkha is in 
itself a desire, and as such a hindrance, but still less does he see that 
the fear of pleasure — even as it may come unsought — is a still more 
subtle bondage. 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

nothing in Buddha's attitude generally which could be 
regarded by his contemporaries as unusual, he had not to 
introduce anything fundamentally new; on the contrary, 
it would have been an innovation if he had undertaken 
to preach a way of salvation which did not proceed on 
a basis of monastic observances." * 

The first systematic expression of such an 'innovation,' 
of which the source and sanction are to be found in the 
already old doctrine of the identity of This and That, 
Becoming and not- Becoming, is in the Bhagavad Gita. 
This is variously dated as between 400 B.C. and a.d. 200, 
but whatever remodelling it may have undergone it can 
hardly be doubted that its essential thought is the recog- 
nition of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga side by side with 
J nana Yoga as ' means ' of salvation : 
" It was with works that Janaka and others came into 
adeptship; thou too shouldst do them, considering the 
order of the world ... as do the unwise, attached to 
works, so should the wise do, but without attachment, 
seeking to establish order in the world." 
" He who beholds in Work No-work, and in No- Work 
Work, is the man of understanding amongst mortals ; he 
is in the rule, a doer of perfect work. . . . Free from 
attachment to the fruit of works, everlastingly contented, 
unconfined, even though he be engaged in Work he does 
not Work at all." 

" Casting off all thy Works upon Me with thy mind on 
the One over Self, be thou without craving and without 

1 Buddha, English translation, ed. 2 (1904), p. 119. It is true that the 
layman Arahat is not altogether unknown to Early Buddhism (twenty- 
one are mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya, iii, 451, and Suddhodana, 
Gautama's father is also specially mentioned), but the fulfilment of 
worldly duties, however selflessly, was never preached as a way of 
salvation. 
212 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

thought of a Mine, and with thy fever calmed, engage in 
battle." 

Thus it is that even laymen may attain to perfect freedom, 
in a life obedient to vocation, if only the activity be void 
of motive and self-reference. The degree of bondage 
implied in various environments depends entirely on 
the outlook of the individual, and not on any good or bad 
quality intrinsic in any thing or any status. Bondage and 
deliverance are alike to be found in the home and in the 
forest, and not more nor less in one than the other ; every- 
thing alike is Holy (in terms of Buddhism, 'Void'), and 
men and women are not less so than mountains or forests. 
Above all, this reconciliation of religion with the world 
is practically manifested in selfless obedience to vocation 
{sva-dkarma) ; for notwithstanding this world is but a 
Becoming, it has a meaning which cannot be fathomed 
by those who turn their backs upon it in order to escape 
from its pains and elude its pleasures. 
Precisely the same crisis that we here speak of as dis- 
tinguishing Buddhism from Brahmanism, is passed through 
in the history of Brahmanism itself, and must, perhaps, be 
passed over in the history of every school of thought that 
attains to its full development. It had been held amongst 
Brahmans, as it had been also for a time assumed by 
Gautama, that salvation must be sought in penance 
{tapas) and in the life of the hermit. Gautama intro- 
duced no radical change 1 in merely insisting on the futility 
of carrying such disciplines to a morbid extreme. But in 

1 Perhaps we ought to say no change at all, for it would be difficult to 
point to any early or important Brahmanical text advocating a mental 
and moral discipline more severe than that of the Buddhist Brethren ; 
on the contrary, the Upanishads constantly insist that salvation 
is won by knowledge alone, and that all else is merely preliminary. 

213 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

Brahman circles, that wide movement of thought, of which 
Gautama reveals but a single phase and a single stage, 
culminates in a very different theory of tapas, which is 
expressed as follows in the Manava Dharma-sastm : 
"The tapas of the Brahmana is concentrated study; of the 
Kshattriya, protection of the weak ; of the Vaishya, trade 
and agriculture; of the Siidra, service of others. . . . 
For the Brahman, tapas and vidya, self-denial and wisdom, 
are the only means to the final goal, etc." 
This is merely another version of the doctrine of vocation 
already referred to. 

It is perfectly true that the more deeply we penetrate 
Buddhist and Brahmanical thought, the less is it possible 
to divide them. If, for example, we imagine the question 
propounded to a teacher of either persuasion, ' What shall 
I do to be saved?' — the same answer would be made, 
that salvation veritably consists in overcoming the illusion 
that any such ego — ' I ' — exists, and the way to this 
salvation would be described as the overcoming of craving. 
These are indeed the answers of Christ and of all other 
great Masters: He that loses his life shall save it; Thy 
will, not mine. It is when we proceed to formulate a 
discipline that distinctions arise, and here that the 
idiosyncrasy of the individual teacher becomes most 
evident. Gautama's scheme of the Ariyan Eightfold Path, 
as a complete scheme, is universal only in the sense that 
in all lands and in all ages there are to be found indi- 
viduals of rationalist and ascetic temperament kindred 
The fruit of asceticism as such, as of all other deeds, must be 
finite in itself: " Of a truth, O Gargi," says Yajnavalkhya, himself a 
hermit, "he who does not know this imperishable One, though in this 
world he should distribute alms and practise penance {tapas tapyate) 
for many a thousand years, thereby wins but finite good." — Brihad- 
aranyaka Upanishad, 3, 8, 10. 
214 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

with his own. If we liken Early Buddhism to a ' Lesser 
Raft,' then we may justly speak of Brahmanism, as of the 
' Mahayana,' as a Greater Vessel ; each conveys the 
traveller to his desired haven, but the larger vessel serves 
the needs of a greater variety of men. Here is to be 
sought the explanation of that final 'victory' of Hind- 
duism and of the Mahayana, which the exponents of 
Early Buddhism, and of the * pure religions of the Vedas ' 
have agreed to regard as a descent into superstition and 
priestcraft. 

It had been, and always remained to a certain extent a 
principle of Brahmanism to impart the highest teachings 
only in pupillary succession to those who show themselves 
qualified to receive it. The fact of Gautama's ignorance 
of the Atmanist position may be taken to prove that in his 
day the doctrine of the Atman was still an esoteric truth 
known only to the few. Gautama, on the other hand, 
while he refused to answer insoluble problems of escha- 
tology and metaphysics, expressly says that he does not 
reserve an esoteric doctrine ; all his sermons were preached 
in public, and accessible to laymen and to women. He 
did not reserve to twice-born castes the right to enter the 
spiritual order, and it has been estimated that some ten 
per cent, of the Brethren were ' low-born ' ; for him, the 
only true Brahman is the man who excels in wisdom and 
goodness. 

On these grounds it is sometimes assumed that Gautama 
was a successful social reformer who broke the chains of 
caste and won for the poor and humble a place in the 
kingdom of the spirit. But this view of the mission of 
Gautama, whose kingdom, like that of Jesus, was not of 
this world, is unhistorical. Had Gautama been of those 
who seek to improve the world by good government, and 

215 



Buddha ftP the Gospel of Buddhism 

to secure their just rights for the poor and despised, he 
would not have left his kingdom to become a homeless 
wanderer, he would not have preferred the status of a 
teacher to that of a powerful prince ; there need have been 
no ' Great Renunciation,' but history would have recorded 
another Asoka, fulfilling the ideal of an earthly Dharmaraja 
such as Rama. But Gautama, when he saw the sick and 
the dying did not think of suffering as due to external causes, 
or to be alleviated by the bettering of the social order ; 
he saw that suffering was bound up with the ego-asserting 
nature of man, and therefore he taught nothing but a 
mental and moral discipline designed to root out the 
conceit of an I. It is made abundantly clear that Gautama 
regards the state of the world as hopeless and irremediable, 
and while the truth of this is in one sense undeniable, and 
the Brahmans were equally aware of it, 1 and of the 
relativity of all ethics, nevertheless it is they, and not 
Gautama, who have seen a profound significance in the 
maintenance of the order of the world, considering it a 
school where ignorance may be gradually dispelled. It is 
they who occupied themselves with the development of an 
ideal society, which they anticipated in the Utopias of 
Valmiki, Vyasa, and Manu. Had any Buddhist pointed 
out to a Brahman philosopher the impossibility of estab- 
lishing a millennium, the latter would have replied that 
he found significance in the task itself, and not in its 
achievement. 

There is too a fallacy in the very suggestion that Gautama 
could have broken the chains of caste; for notwithstanding 
that those skilful craftsmen, the Brahman Utopists referred 
to, were already at work, the so-called chains were not 

1 For example, ato 'nyad artam, * What is distinct from Him (the 
Brahman), that is full of suffering.' — Brihadaranyaka, 3, 4, 2, etc. 
2l6 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

yet forged. The caste system as it now exists is a sort of 
1 Guild Socialism ' supported by theocratic sanctions and 
associated with eugenics ; each caste being self-governing, 
internally democratic, and having its own norm (sva- 
d/iarma). We need not discuss the merit or demerit of 
this system here; but it must be realized that in the time 
of Gautama the system had not yet crystallized. What 
already existed was a classification of men according to 
complexion, in the 'Four Varnas' or colours; each of 
these included many groups which afterward crystallized 
as separate castes. Moreover at this time the position of 
the Brahmans as leaders of society was not yet secure ; we 
cannot regard the indications of the Brahman Utopists as 
historical, and it would appear that the status of Brahmans 
in the age of Gautama was somewhat lower than that of 
Kshattriyas. At any rate in Magadha the intellectual 
rank of the latter is sufficiently indicated by their achieve- 
ments, such as the formulation of the Atman doctrine, 
the institution of wandering friars, the An-atta doctrine 
of Gautama, the teachings of Mahavlra, and so forth. 
Nevertheless it is clear that the Brahmans claimed in- 
tellectual and ethical superiority; and no one acquainted 
with Indian history can doubt that Indian Brahmans- 
born have to a large extent deserved by character and 
achievement the respect in which they have always been 
held ; it is easy to criticize, as did Gautama, the empirical 
method of determining Brahmanhood by birth, but this 
was the most practical method that could be devised, and 
the world has yet to discover a better way to secure in all 
its affairs the guidance of the wisest. Gautama does not 
offer any alternative to the doctrine of Brahmanhood by 
birth, regarded as the solution to a social problem — the 
means of preserving a given type of high culture. He 

217 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

was able to ignore this problem, only because he wished 
that all higher men should 'wander alone.' 
At the same time it is not only Gautama who sought to 
use the term Brahman in a purely ethical sense ; the same 
usage is found in the pre-Buddhist Brihadaranyaka 
Upanishad (iii, 5, i) and elsewhere. Even where, as in 
Manu, the doctrine of Brahmanhood by birth is taken for 
granted, we find it said that the Brahman is born for 
dharma alone and not for wealth or pleasure; while the 
(later) Mdrkandeya Purana lays down that nothing is per- 
mitted to be done by the Brahman "for the sake of enjoy- 
ment." And with regard to the remaining point, the right of 
the lowest classes to share in the kingdom of the spirit : this 
was by no means first or only asserted by Gautama ; it is, 
for example, taken for granted in the Samanna-phala 
Sutta that religious orders already existing in the time of 
Gautama and not founded by him admitted even slaves 
to their ranks, and in many others of the Buddhist Suttas 
there are mentioned Sudras who became Wanderers, as 
if it were a common occurrence and well recognized. 
And if the Brahmans were careful to exclude the unculti- 
vated classes from hearing the Vedas repeated and taught, 
this applied almost entirely to the older Vedic literature, 
in its priestly and magical aspects; although the doctrine 
of the Atman may have been known to few in the days 
of Gautama (and it is in the nature of things that such 
doctrines must long remain ih the hands of the few) 
nevertheless the Brahmanical objection to Sudra initia- 
tion does not extend to the Upanishads, which constitute 
that part of the Veda which alone in itself suffices for 
salvation. Moreover, we have to know that the Brahmans 
themselves, by means of the Epics (and especially the 
Bhagavad Gita) and the Puranas, deliberately undertook 
218 



! 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

and accomplished that education of the whole Indian 
people, women included, which has made them, from the 
standpoint of character and courtesy, if not of technical 
literacy, the most educated race in the world. In comparing 
Buddhism (the teaching of Gautama, that is) with 
Brahmanism, we have then to understand and take 
into account the difference of the problem sought to 
be solved. Gautama is concerned with salvation and 
nothing but salvation : the Brahmans likewise see in that 
summum bonum the ultimate significance of all existence, 
but they also take into account the things of relative 
importance; theirs is a religion both of Eternity and 
Time, while Gautama looks upon Eternity alone. It 
is not really fair to Gautama or to the Brahmans to 
contrast their Dhaima ; for they do not seek to cover the 
same ground. We must compare the Buddhist ethical 
ideal with the (identical) standard of Brahmanhood 
expected of the Brahman born ; we must contrast the 
Buddhist monastic system with the Brahmanical orders ; 
the doctrine of Anatta with the doctrine of the Atman, 
and here we shall find identity. But if the exponents of 
Buddhism insist on confining the significance of Buddhism 
to what is taught by Gautama, we must point out at 
the same time that it stands for a restricted ideal, which 
contrasts with Brahmanism as a part contrasts with a 
whole ; Buddhism might well have been accounted by 
Vijfiana Bhikshu as a ' seventh darsana? 
Just as with the history of the various Brahmanical 
darsanas, so with Buddhism as a sect there remains much 
to be accomplished in historical elucidation and in exegesis 
and interpretation. But a more important task has 
hardly been envisaged : the connected historical study of 
Indian thought as an organic entirety. Just as we now 

219 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

see clearly that Indian architecture cannot be divided into 
styles on a sectarian basis, but is always primarily Indian, 
so also with the philosophic and religious thought. 
There is no true opposition of Buddhism and Brahmanism, 
but from the beginning one general movement, or many 
closely related movements. The integrity of Indian 
thought, moreover, would not be broken if every specifi- 
cally Buddhist element were omitted; we should only 
have to say that certain details had been less adequately 
elaborated or less emphasized. To some Buddhists may 
be recommended the words of Asoka : 
"He who does reverence to his own sect while dis- 
paraging the sects of others wholly from attachment to his 
own, with intent to enhance the splendour of his own 
sect, in reality by such conduct inflicts the severest injury 
on his own sect. Concord, therefore, is meritorious, to 
wit, hearkening and hearkening willingly to the Dharma 
accepted by others." 

To sum up : Gautama does not enunciate the conception 
of Freedom as a state independent of environment and 
vocation ; the unity of his system, like that of Haeckel's, 
is only achieved by leaving out of account the Unregis- 
trable ; in a majority of fundamentals he does not differ 
from the Atmanists, although he gives a far clearer 
statement of the law of causality as the essential mark of 
the world of Becoming. The greater part of his polemic, 
however, is wasted in a misunderstanding. Implicit 
in Brahman thought from an early period, on the other 
hand, and forming the most marked features of later 
Indian mysticism — achieved also in the Mahayana, but 
with greater difficulty — is the conviction that ignorance is 
maintained only by attachment, and not by such actions as 
are void of purpose and self-reference ; and the thought 
220 



Buddhism and Brahmanism 

that This and That world, Becoming and Being, are seen 
to be one by those in whom ignorance is destroyed. In 
this identification there is effected a reconciliation of 
religion with the world, which remained beyond the grasp 
of Theravada Buddhists. The distinctions between early 
Buddhism and Brahmanism, however practically import- 
ant, are thus merely temperamental ; fundamentally there 
is absolute agreement that bondage consists in the thought 
of I and Mine, and that this bondage may be broken only 
for those in whom all craving is extinct. 1 In all essentials 
Buddhism and Brahmanism form a single system. 

1 Those who claim that Buddha did not teach the extinction of desire 
do him less than justice. Even Nietzsche teaches a nishkama dharma 
when he says : ' Do I then strive after happiness ? I strive after my 
work!' 



221 



PART IV : THE MAHAY ANA 

/. BEGINNINGS OF THE MAHAYANA 

A FIRST Buddhist council was summoned in the 
reign of Asoka — about 240 b.c. — with a view to 
the settlement of sectarian disputes. It is clear 
that heresies had already arisen, for certain of Asoka's 
edicts are concerned with the unfrocking of schismatics ; 
and, indeed, we know that heresies were promulgated 
even during the life of the Buddha himself. In course of 
time we find that a large number of sects developed, all 
equally claiming to be followers of the true doctrine, just 
as has been the case with Christianity and every other 
great faith. The Buddhist sects are divided into two 
main groups : those of the Hlnayana (' The Little Raft ') 
and the Mahayana ('The Great Raft'). The former, 
whose scriptures are preserved in Pali, claim to represent 
the pure original teaching of Gautama, and do in the 
main preserve its rationalistic, monastic and puritanical 
features to a marked extent : * the latter, whose scriptures 
are in Sanskrit, interpret the doctrine in another way, 
with a development that is mystical, theological and 
devotional. The Hlnayana has maintained its supremacy 
mainly in the South, particularly in Ceylon and Burma; 
the Mahayana mainly in the North, in Nepal and China. 
But it is misleading to speak of the two schools as 
definitely Northern and Southern. 

Let us recall that according to the orthodox Hlnayana, 
Gautama was originally a man like other men, and 
differed from others only in his intuitive penetration of 
the secret of life and sorrow, in his perception of things 
as they really are, as an eternal Becoming; with that 
knowledge he attained Nibbana, and for him the causes 
222 



Beginnings of the Mahayana 

of birth were extinguished. Other men, to whom the 
Way has been revealed by the Buddha or his disciples, 
can attain to Arahatta and Nibbana, but are not regarded 
as Buddhas, nor is it suggested that every creature 
may ultimately reach the condition of Buddhahood. Specu- 
lation is forbidden as to whether the Buddha and the 
Arahats exist or do not exist after the death of the body. 
If now we survey the canonical scriptures as a whole — 
written down in Pali about 80 B.C. — we shall find that 
they include certain elements which are more or less 
inconsistent with this pure intellectual doctrine which 
appears to have formed the very consistent Dhamma of 
Gautama himself. In the dialogue of Pasenadi, king of 
Kosala, with the nun Khema, regarding the state of the 
Buddha after death, we find: "Released, O great king, 
is the Perfect One from this, that his being should be 
gauged by the measure of the corporeal world: he is 
deep, immeasurable, unfathomable as the great ocean." 1 
Here is at least the suggestion that the undetermined, the 
unregistrable, that which is other than Becoming, yet 
is, though beyond our ken or understanding. In another 
place, answering the question: What kind of being is a 
Buddha? Gautama himself is made to reply that he is 
neither a Deva, nor a Gandharva, nor a Yakkha nor a 
man, but is a Buddha. It may be intended only that a 
Buddha must not be regarded as an ordinary man ; never- 
theless there is clearly to be seen here an opening for the 
later Mahayana doctrine of the Body of Transformation. 
We find, again (in the Udnaa, viii, 3), the following 
passage, which sounds more like a Brahmanical than a 
Buddhist saying : 

"There is, O Bhikkhus, an unborn, unoriginated, un- 
1 Avyakala Samyutta^ 1. 

223 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

created, unformed. Were there not, O Bhikkhus, this 
unborn, unoriginated, uncreated, unformed, there would 
be no escape from the world of the born, originated, 
created, formed." 

It may also be remarked that the most definite and uni- 
versal verbal profession of the Buddhist or convert runs : 
' I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the 
Sangha' (collectively, the 'Three Jewels'). 1 No doubt 
this formula was first used in the lifetime of Gautama, 
whose own person may well have seemed to the world- 
weary a haven of refuge, no less than the Gospel and the 
Order. But after his death, what can the words, ' I take 
refuge in the Buddha,' have meant to a layman, or any 
but the most critical of the Brethren? It did not mean 
the Buddha's gospel, for that is separately mentioned. 
Those women and others whom we see in the sculptured 
reliefs of Sanchi and Amaravati, kneeling with passionate 
devotion and with offerings of flowers before an altar, 
where the Buddha is represented by the symbols of the 
footprints or the wisdom-tree (Plate Q) — what did it 
mean to them to take refuge in the Buddha ? 
This phrase alone must have operated with the subtle 
power of hypnotic suggestion to convince the worshipper 
— and the majority of men are worshippers rather than 
thinkers by nature — that the Buddha still was, and that 
some relation, however vaguely imagined, could be estab- 
lished between the worshipper and Him-who-had-thus- 
attained. It was, almost certainly, the growth of this 
conviction which determined the development of Buddhist, 

1 The doctrine of devotion also occurs in another form, where almost' 
in the words of the Bhagavad Gita^ Gautama is made to say that those 
who have not yet even entered the Paths "are sure of heaven if they 
have love and faith towards Me." — Majjhima Nikaya^ 22. 
224 



Beginnings of the Mahayana 

iconolatry and all the mystical theology of the Mahayana. 
It is the element of worship which changed the monastic 
system of Gautama into a world-religion. 
In the earliest Buddhist literature the word ' Buddha ' has 
not yet come to be used in a technical sense : Gautama 
never speaks of himself as " the Buddha," and when others 
do so the term means simply the Enlightened One, the 
Awakened. The Buddha is but the wisest and greatest 
of the Arahats. In course of time the term became more 
specialized to mean a particular kind of being; while 
the term Bodhisatta, or Wisdom-Being, first used of 
Gautama between the Going-forth and the attainment of 
Nibbana, came to mean a Buddha-designate — any being 
destined to become a Buddha in this or some future life. 
This doctrine of the Bodhisatta is extensively developed 
in the book of the 550 Jatakas, or Birth Stories, which 
recount the edifying histories of Gautama's previous 
existence as man, animal, or fairy. When the Brahman 
Sumedha rejects the thought of crossing alone the sea of 
Becoming and registers the vow to attain omniscience, in 
order that he may also convey other men, and gods, across 
that sea, he speaks already in the sense of the Mahayana. 
Associated with the doctrine of the Bodhisatta is that of 
previous Buddhas, who are duly named in the Mahapadana 
Sutta, and the details of their lives set forth according to 
a set formula ; their number is three or seven or, according 
to a later account, twenty-four. Of future Buddhas, only 
the Bodhisatta Metteya, the personification of Loving- 
kindness, is mentioned, and that in the Milinda Panha, 
which is a little later than the canonical scriptures. 
It is possible that the three former Buddhas who are said 
to have appeared in the present age, but very long ago, 
represent a memory of actual teachers before Buddha : in 

p 225 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

any case, the theory that all Buddhas teach the same 
doctrine is of considerable interest, and it corresponds to 
the Brahman view of the eternity of the Vedas, which are 
heard rather than invented by successive teachers. This 
belief in the timeless unity of truth, which is shared by 
Indians of divers persuasions, is of much significance. 
Without referring in greater detail to the mythological 
and magical elements which enter into even the earliest 
Buddha literature, it will suffice to point out that this 
literature already includes, as partly indicated above, the 
germs of most of those doctrines which are elaborated to 
a far greater extent in the dogmas of the ' Great Raft.' 
The development of that religion from the basis of early 
Buddhist psychology is nearly parallel to the development 
of mediaeval Hinduism on the basis of the pure idealism 
of the Upanishads. 

//. SYSTEM OF THE MAHAYANA 

Le plus saint, c'est le plus amant. — Ruysbroeck 

The Mahayana or Great Vessel is so-called by its adherents, 
in contradistinction to the Hlnayana or little Vessel of 
primitive Buddhism, because the former offers to all 
beings in all worlds salvation by faith and love as well as 
by knowledge, while the latter only avails to convey over 
the rough sea of Becoming to the farther shore of Nibbana 
those few strong souls who require no external spiritual 
aid nor the consolation of Worship. The Hlnayana, 
like the ' unshown way ' of those who seek the * nirguna 
Brahman? is exceeding hard ;* whereas the burden of the 

1 In the words of Behmen (Supersensual Life, Dialogue 2) : But, alas^ 
how hard it is for the Will to sink into nothing, to attract nothing, to 
imagine nothing. 
226 



System of the Mahayana 

Mahayana is light, and does not require that a man should 
immediately renounce the world and all the affections of 
humanity. The manifestation of the Body of the Law, 
says the Mahayana, is adapted to the various needs of the 
children of the Buddha; whereas the Hinayana is only of 
avail to those who have left their spiritual childhood far 
behind them. The Hinayana emphasizes the necessity of 
saving knowledge, and aims at the salvation of the 
individual, and refuses to develop the mystery of Nibbana 
in a positive sense ; the Mahayana lays as much or greater 
stress on love, and aims at the salvation of every sentient 
being, and finds in Nirvana the One Reality, which is 
' Void ' only in the sense that it is free from the limitations 
of every phase of the limited or contingent experience of 
which we have empirical knowledge. The Buddhists of 
the primitive school, on the other hand, naturally do not 
accept the name of the 'Lesser Vessel,' and as true 
Protestants they raise objection to the theological and 
aesthetic accommodation of the true doctrine to the neces- 
sities of human nature. 

Opinions thus differ as to whether we may regard the 
Mahayana as a development or a degeneration. Even the 
professed exponents of the Hinayana have their doubts. 
Thus in one place Professor Rhys Davids speaks of the 
Bodhisattva doctrine as the dzrana-weed which " drove out 
the doctrine of the Ariyan path," and the weed "is not 
attractive : " x while in another, Mrs Rhys Davids writes of 
the cool detachment of the Arahat, that perhaps " a yet more 
saintly Sariputta would have aspired yet further, even to 
an infinite series of rebirths, wherein he might, with ever- 
growing power and self-devotion, work for the furtherance 
of the religious evolution of his fellows,'' adding that 
1 Dialogues of the Buddha^ ii, p. i. 

227 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

"social and religious ideals evolve out of, yea, and even 
beyond the finished work and time-straitened vision of 
the Arahants of old." * Perhaps we need not determine 
the relative value of either school : the way of knowledge 
will ever appeal to some, and the way of love and action 
to others, and the latter the majority. Those who are 
saved by knowledge stand apart from the world and its 
hopes and fears, offering to the world only that knowledge 
which shall enable others to stand aside in the same way : 
those others who are moved by their love and wisdom to 
perpetual activity — in whom the will to life is dead, but 
the will to power yet survives in its noblest and most 
impersonal forms — attain at last the same goal, and in the 
meanwhile effect a reconciliation of religion with the world, 
and the union of renunciation with action. 
The development of the Mahayana is in fact the over- 
flowing of Buddhism from the limits of the Order into 
the life of the world; into whatever devious channels 
Buddhism may have ultimately descended, are we to say 
that that identification with the life of the world, with all 
its consequences in ethic and aesthetic, was a misfortune? 
Few who are acquainted with the history of Asiatic culture 
would maintain any such thesis. 

Mahayanists do not hesitate to describe the Hinayana 
ideal as selfish ; and we have indicated in several places to 
what extent it must in any case be called narrow. But the 
Mahayanists — not to speak of Christian critics of the 
Hinayana — do not sufficiently realize that a selfish being 
could not possibly become an Arahat, who must be free 
from even the conception of an ego, and still more from 
every form of ego-assertion. The selfishness of the would- 
be Arahat is more apparent than real. The ideal of self- 

1 Psalms of the Brethren^ p. xlviii. 
228 



System of the Mahayana 

culture is not opposed to that of self-sacrifice : in any per- 
fectly harmonious development these seemingly opposite 
tendencies are reconciled. To achieve this reconciliation, 
to combine renunciation with growth, knowledge with 
love, stillness with activity, is the problem of all ethics. 
Curiously enough, though its solution has often been 
attempted by oriental religions, it has never been so clearly 
enunciated in the west as by the 'irreligious' Nietzsche — 
the latest of the mystics — whose ideal of the Superman 
combines the Will to Power (cf. pranidhana) with the 
Bestowing Virtue (cf. km una). 

If the ideal of the Private Buddha seems to be a selfish 
one, we may reply that the Great Man can render to his 
fellows no higher service than to realize the highest 
possible state of his being. From the Unity of life we 
cannot but deduce the identity of (true) self-interest with the 
(true) interest of others. While therefore the Mahayanists 
may justly claim that their system is indeed a greater 
vessel of salvation in the sense of greater convenience, or 
better adaptation to the needs of a majority of voyagers, 
they cannot on the other hand justly accuse the captain 
and the crew of the smaller ship of selfishness. Those 
who seek to the farther shore may select the means best 
suited to their own needs : the final goal is one and the 
same. 

The most essential part of the Mahayana is its emphasis 
on the Bodhisattva ideal, which replaces that of 
Arahatta, or ranks before it. Whereas the Arahat 
strives most earnestly for Nirvana, the Bodhisattva as 
firmly refuses to accept the final release. "Forasmuch 
as there is the will that all sentient beings should be alto- 
gether made free, I will not forsake my fellow creatures." 1 

1 Avatamsaka Sutra. 

229 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

The Bodhisattva is he in whom the Bodhicitta or heart of 
wisdom is fully expanded. In a sense, we are all Bodhi- 
sattvas, and indeed all Buddhas, only that in us by reason 
of ignorance and imperfection in love the glory of the 
Bodhi-heart is not yet made manifest. But those are 
specially called Bodhisattvas who with specific determina- 
tion dedicate all the activities of their future and present 
lives to the task of saving the world. They do not merely 
contemplate, but feel, all the sorrow of the world, and 
because of their love they cannot be idle, but expend 
their virtue with supernatural generosity. It is said of 
Gautama Buddha, for example, that there is no spot on 
earth where he has not in some past life sacrificed his life 
for the sake of others, while the whole story of his last 
incarnation related in the Vessantara Jataka relates the 
same unstinting generosity, which does not shrink even 
from the giving away of wife and children. But Buddha- 
hood once attained, according to the old school, it remains 
for others to work out their salvation alone : " Be ye 
lamps unto yourselves," in the last words of Gautama. 
According to the Mahayana, however, even the attainment 
of Buddhahood does not involve indifference to the sorrow 
of the world ; the work of salvation is perpetually carried 
on by the Bodhisattva emanations of the supreme Buddhas, 
just as the work of the Father is done by Jesus. 
The Bodhisattvas are specially distinguished from the 
Sravakas (Arahats) and Pacceka-Buddhas or 'Private 
Buddhas,' who have become followers of the Buddha 
' for the sake of their own complete Nirvana ' : x for the 
1 Hindus would express this by saying that Sravakas and Pacceka- 
Buddhas choose the path of Immediate Salvation : Bodhisattvas, that 
of Ultimate Salvation. ' The deferred path of Liberation is the path 
of all Bhaktas. It is the path of compassion or service.' — P. N. Sinha, 
Commentary on the Bhagavata Purdna, p. 359. 
230 




Plate R 230 

AVALOKITESVARA (Bodhisattva) 

Nepalese copper gilt, gth-ioth century a.d. 

Author's Collection 



System of the Mahayana 

Bodhisattvas enter upon their course " out of compassion 
to the world, for the benefit, weal, and happiness of the 
world at large, both gods and men, for the sake of the 
complete Nirvana of all beings. . . . Therefore they are 
called Bodhisattva Mahasattva." x 

A doctrine specially associated with the Bodhisattva 
ideal is that of the parivarta or turning over of ethical 
merit to the advantage of others, which amounts very 
nearly to the doctrine of vicarious atonement. Whereas 
in early Buddhism it is emphasized that each life is 
entirely separate from every other (also a Jaina doctrine, 
and no doubt derived from the Samkhya conception 
of a plurality of Purushas), the Mahayana insists on 
the interdependence and even the identity of all life ; and 
this position affords a logical basis for the view that 
the merit acquired by one may be devoted to the good of 
others. This is a peculiarly amiable feature in late 
Buddhism; we find, for example, that whoever accom- 
plishes a good deed, such as a work of charity or a 
pilgrimage, adds the prayer that the merit may be shared 
by all sentient beings. 

It will be seen that the doctrine of vicarious merit involves 
the interpretation of karma in the first and more general 
sense referred to on page 108. No man lives to himself 
alone, but we may regard the whole creation (which 
groaneth and travailleth together) as one life and there- 
fore as sharing a common karma, to which every indi- 
vidual contributes for good or ill. Notwithstanding from 
the individualist standpoint it may appear both false 
and dangerous to limit the doctrine of purely individual 
responsibility, it is not so in fact ; the good or evil of the 
individual also affects others, and rather increases his 

1 Saddharmapundarlka Sutra. 

231 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

responsibility than lightens it. There is no mystery in 
karma ; it is simply a phase of the law of cause and effect, 
and it holds as much for groups and communities as 
for individuals, if indeed, individuals are not also com- 
munities. Let us take a very simple example : if a single 
wise statesman by a generous treatment of a conquered 
race secures their loyalty at some future time of stress, 
that karma accrues not merely to himself but to the 
state for ever; and other members of the community, 
even those who would have dealt ungenerously in 
the first instance, benefit undeniably from the vicarious 
merit of a single man. Just in this sense it is possible 
for hero-souls to bear or to share the burden of the karma 
of humanity. By this conception of the taking on of 
sin, or rather, the passing on of merit, the Mahayana has 
definitely emerged from the formula of psychic isolation 
which the Hlnayana inherits from the Samkhya. 
In other words, the great difficulty of imagining a par- 
ticular karma passing from individual to individual, with- 
out the persistence even of a subtle body, is avoided 
by the conception of human beings, or indeed of the 
whole universe, as constituting one life or self. Thus 
it is from our ancestors that we receive our karma, 
and not merely from 'our own' past existences; and 
whatsoever karma we create will be inherited by humanity 
for ever. 

The following account of karma is given by a modern 
Mahayanist : 

"The aggregate actions of all sentient beings give birth 
to the varieties of mountains, rivers, countries, etc. They 
are caused by aggregate actions, and so are called aggregate 
fruits. Our present life is the reflection of past actions. 
Men consider these reflections as their real selves. Their 
232 



System of the M ahayana 

eyes, noses, ears, tongues, and bodies — as well as their 
gardens, woods, farms, residences, servants, and maids — 
men imagine to be their own possessions; but, in fact, 
they are only results endlessly produced by innumerable 
actions. In tracing everything back to the ultimate 
limits of the past, we cannot find a beginning: hence 
it is said that death and birth have no beginning. Again, 
when seeking the ultimate limit of the future, we cannot 
find the end." * 

It may be pointed out here just how far the doctrine 
of karma is and is not fatalistic. It is fatalistic in the 
sense that the present is always determined by the past ; 
but the future remains free. Every action we make 
depends on what we have come to be at the time. But 
what we are coming to be at any time depends on the 
direction of the will. The karmic law merely asserts 
that this direction cannot be altered suddenly by the 
forgiveness of sins, but must be changed by our own 
efforts. If ever the turning of the will appears to take 
place suddenly, that can only be due to the fruition of 
long accumulated latent tendencies (we constantly read 
that Gautama preached the Law to such and such a one, 
forasmuch as he saw that his or her intelligence was 
'fully ripe,' and in these cases conversion immediately 
results). Thus, if we are not directly responsible for our 
present actions, we are always responsible for our character, 
on which future actions depend. On this account the 
object of Buddhist moral discipline is always the accumu- 
lation of merit (punya), that is to say the heaping up 
of grace, or simply the constant improvement of character. 
The Mahayanist doctors recognize ten stations in the 
spiritual evolution of the Bodhisattva, beginning with 
1 S. Kuroda, Outlines of the Mahay ana Philosophy. 

233 



Buddha ftp the Gospel of Buddhism 

the first awakening of the Wisdom-heart (Bodhicitta) in 
the warmth of compassion (karuna) and the light of 
divine knowledge (prajna). These stations are those 
of 'joy,' 'purity,' 'effulgence,' 'burning,' 'hard to 
achieve,' ' showing the face,' ' going afar off,' ' not 
moving to and fro,' ' good intelligence,' and ' dharma- 
cloud.' It is in the first station that the Bodhisattva 
makes those pregnant resolutions (pranidhana) which 
determine the course of his future lives. An example of 
such a vow is the resolution of Avalokitesvara not to 
accept salvation until the least particle of dust shall have 
attained to Buddahood before him. 

It may be mentioned that the course {cariya) of the 
Bodhisattva has this advantage, that he never comes to 
birth in any purgatory, nor in any unfavourable condition 
on earth. Nor is the Bodhisattva required to cultivate a 
disgust for the conditions of life; he does not practise 
a meditation on Foul Things, like the aspirant for 
Arahatta. The Bodhisattva simply recognizes that the 
conditions of life have come to be what they are, that it 
is in the nature (tattva, bhutathd, suchness) of things to 
be so, and he takes them accordingly for what they are 
worth. This position is nowhere more tersely summed 
up than in the well-known Japanese verselet — 

Granted this dewdrop world be but a dewdrop world. 
This granted, yet . . . 

Thus the new Buddhist law was in no way puritanical, and 
did not inculcate an absolute detachment. Pleasure 
indeed is not to be sought as an end in itself, but it need 
not be rejected as it arises incidentally. The Bodhisattva 
shares in the life of the world; for example, he has a 
wife, that his supernatural generosity may be seen in the 
234 



System of the Mahay ana 

gift of wife and children, and for the same reason he may 
be the possessor of power and wealth. If by reason of 
attachment and this association with the world some 
venial sins are unavoidably committed, that is of little 
consequence, and such sins are wiped away in the love of 
others : the cardinal sins of hatred and self-thinking 
cannot be imagined in him in whom the heart of wisdom 
has been awakened. It must not, however, be supposed 
that the Mahayana in any way relaxes the rule of the 
Order ; and even in the matter of the remission of sins of 
the laity it is only minor and inevitable shortcomings 
that are considered, and not deliberate deeds of evil. 
And if the Mahayana doctors preach the futility of 
remorse and discouragement, on the other hand they are 
by no means quietists, but advocate a mysticism fully as 
practical as that of Ruysbroeck. 

The idea of the Bodhisattva corresponds to that of the 
Hero, the Superman, the Saviour and the Avatar of 
other systems. In this connexion it is interesting to 
note that legitimate pride — the will to power, conjoined 
with the bestowing virtue — is by no means alien to the 
Bodhisattva character, but on the contrary, " In respect 
of three things may pride be borne — man's works, his 
temptations, and his power," and the exposition follows : 
" The pride of works lies in the thought ' for me alone is 
the task.' * This world, enslaved by passion, is powerless 
to accomplish its own weal ; then must I do it for them, 
for I am not impotent like them. Shall another do a 
lowly task while I am standing by ? If I in my pride 
will not do it, better it is that my pride perish. . . . 

1 Cf. Blake : 

But when Jesus was crucified, 

Then was perfected His galling pride. 

235 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Then with firm spirit I will undo the occasions of un- 
doing ; if I should be conquered by them, my ambition 
to conquer the threefold world would be a jest. I will 
conquer all ; none shall conquer me. This is the pride 
that I will bear, for I am the son of the Conqueror Lions ! x 
. . . Surrounded by the troop of the passions man should 
become a thousand times prouder, and be as unconquer- 
able to their hordes as a lion to flocks of deer ... so, 
into whatever straits he may come, he will not fall into 
the power of the Passions. He will utterly give himself 
over to whatever task arrives, greedy for the work . . . 
how can he whose happiness is work itself be happy in 
doing no work ? He will hold himself in readiness, so 
that even before a task comes to him he is prepared to 
turn to every course. As the seed of the cotton-tree is 
swayed at the coming and going of the wind, so will he 
be obedient to his resolution ; and thus divine power is 
gained." 2 

We may remark here an important distinction between 
the Mahayana and the Hlnayana lies in the fact that the 
former is essentially mythical and unhistorical ; the 
believer is, indeed, warned — precisely as the worshipper 
of Krishna is warned in the Vaishnava scriptures that 
the Krishna Llla is not a history, but a process for ever 
unfolded in the heart of man — that matters of historical 
fact are without religious significance. On this account, 
notwithstanding its more popular form, the Mahayana 
has been justly called ' more philosophical ' than the 

1 Buddha is often spoken of as Conqueror (Jina — a term more familiar 
in connexion with the followers of Mahavira, the ' Jainas ') and as Lion 
(Sakyasinha, the lion of the Sakya race). 

2 From the Bodhicarydvatdra of Shanti Deva, translated by L. D. 
Barnett, 1902. 

236 




Plate S 236 

MAITREYA (Bodhisattva) 

Ceylonese bronze, 6th century a.d. or later 

Colombo Mu:eum 



Mahay ana Theology 

Hinayana, "because under the forms of religious or 
mystical imagery it expresses the universal, whereas the 
Hinayana cannot set itself free from the domination of 
the historical fact." * 

An important dogmatic distinction, the meaning of which 
will be made clear as we proceed, is also found in the 
new interpretation of the Three Refuges. In the Hina- 
yana these are the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha ; 
in the Mahayana they are the Buddhas, the Sons of the 
Buddhas (Bodhisattvas both in the special and in the 
wider sense), and the Dharmakaya. 

Mahayana Theology 

The Mahayana is thus distinguished by its mystical 
Buddha theology. This must not be confused with the 
popular and quite realistic theology of Sakka and Brahma 
recognized in early Buddhism. The Mahayana Buddha 
theology, as remarked by Rhys Davids, " is the greatest 
possible contradiction to the Agnostic Atheism," which 
is the characteristic of Gautama's system of philosophy. 
But this opposition is simply the inevitable contrast of 
religion and philosophy, relative and absolute truth, and 
those who are interested in the science of theology, 
or are touched by art, will not be likely to agree in 
denouncing the Buddha gods as the inventions "of a 
sickly scholasticism, hollow abstractions without life or 
reality " : 2 in this contingent world we live every day by 

1 R. F. Johnston, Buddhist China, p. 114. Most likely Christianity 
also in the near future will succeed in breaking the l entangling alliance ' 
of religion and history, from which the mystics have already long 
emerged. There cannot be an absolute truth which is not accessible 
to direct experience. 

2 T. W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism (S.P.C.K., an early edition, pp. 
206, 207). 

237 



Buddha @P the Gospel of Buddhism 

relative truths, and for all those who do not wish to avoid 
the world of Becoming at the earliest possible moment 
these relative truths are far from lacking in life or reality. 
The Mahayana as a theistic faith is so only to the same 
extent as the Vedanta, that is to say it has an esoteric 
aspect which speaks in negative terms of a Suchness and 
a Void which cannot be known, while on the other it has 
an exoteric and more elaborate part in which the Absolute 
is seen through the glass of time and space, contracted 
and identified into variety. This development appears in 
the doctrine of the Trikaya, the Three Bodies of Buddha. 
These three are (i) the Dhai'makdya, or Essence-body; 
(2) its heavenly manifestation in the Sambhogakaya, or 
Body of Bliss ; and (3) the emanation, transformation, or 
projection thereof, called Nirmanakaya, apparent as the 
visible individual Buddha on earth. This is a system 
which hardly differs from what is implied in the Christian 
doctrine of Incarnation, and it is not unlikely that 
both Christianity and the Mahayana are inheritors from 
common Gnostic sources. 

Thus the Dharmakaya may be compared to the Father; 
the Sambhogakaya to the figure of Christ in glory ; the 
Nirmanakaya to the visible Jesus who announces in 
human speech that ' I and my Father are One.' Or again 
with the Vedanta : the Dharmakaya is the Brahman, 
timeless and unconditioned ; the Sambhogakaya is realized 
in the forms of Isvara ; the Nirmanakaya in every avatar. 
The essence of all things, the one reality of which their 
fleeting shapes remind us, is the Dharmakaya. The 
Dharmakaya is not a personal being who reveals 
himself to us in a single incarnation, but it is the all- 
pervading and traceless ground of the soul, which does 
not in fact suffer any modification but appears to us to 
238 



Mahayana Theology 

assume a variety of forms : we read that though the 
Buddha (a term which we must here understand as 
impersonal) does not depart from his seat in the tower 
(state of Dharmakaya), yet he may assume all and 
every form, whether of a Brahma, a god, or a monk, or 
a physician, or a tradesman, or an artist ; he may reveal 
himself in every form of art and industry, in cities or in 
villages: from the highest heaven to the lowest hell, 
there is the Dharmakaya, in which all sentient beings 
are one. The Dharmakaya is the impersonal ground of 
Buddhahood from which the personal will, thought and 
love of innumerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas ever 
proceed in response to the needs of those in whom the 
perfect nature is not yet realized. In some of the later 
phases of the Mahayana, however, the Dharmakaya 
is personified as Adi-Buddha (sometimes Vairocana) 
who is then to be regarded as the Supreme Being, above 
all other Buddhas, and whose sakti is Prajnaparamita. 
Dharmakaya is commonly translated ' Body of the Law,' 
but it must not be interpreted merely as equivalent to the 
sum of the scriptures. The fathomless being of Buddha- 
hood, according to the Mahayana, is something more 
than the immortality of the individual in his doctrine; 
we must understand Dharma here as the Om or Logos. 
To understand the meaning of Dharmakaya more fully 
we must take into account also its synonyms, for 
example, Svabhavakaya, or 'own-nature body' (like the 
Brahmanical svarupa, 'own-form'), Tattva, or 'such- 
ness,' Sunya, 'the void' or 'abyss,' Nirvana, 'the eternal 
liberty, 5 Samadhikaya, ' rapture-body,' Bodhi, ' wisdom,' 
Prajha, 'divine knowledge,' Tathagata-garbha, 'womb 
of those who attain.' 

Some of these terms must be further considered. The 

239 



Buddha &f the Gospel of Buddhism 

'Void,' for example, is not by any means * naught,' but 
simply the absence of characteristics; the Dharmakaya is 
'void* just as the Brahman is 'not so, not so,' and as 
Duns Scotus says that God 'is not improperly called 
Nothing.' It is precisely from the undetermined that 
evolution is imaginable; where there is nothing there is 
room for everything. The voidness of things is the non- 
existence of things-in-themselves, on which so much stress 
is rightly laid in early Buddhism. The phrase ' Own- 
nature body ' emphasizes the thought ' I am that I am.' 
Bodhi is the « wisdom-heart ' which awakens with the 
determination to become a Buddha. ' Suchness ' may be 
taken to mean inevitability, or spontaneity, that the 
highest cause of everything must needs be in the thing 
itself. 

A special meaning attaches to the name Prajna or Prajna- 
paramita, viz. Supreme Knowledge, Reason, Understand- 
ing, Sophia ; for the name Prajnaparamita is applied 
to the chief of the Mahayana scriptures, or a group of 
scriptures, signifying the divine knowledge which they 
embody, and she is also personified as a feminine divinity. 
As one with the Dharmakaya she is the knowledge of the 
Abyss, the Buddhahood in which the individual Bodhi- 
sattva passes away. But as Reason or Understanding she 
is Tathagata-garbha, the Womb or Mother of the Buddhas, 
and the source from which issues the variety of things, 
both mental and physical. 1 In Hindu phraseology, she is 
the Sakti of the Supreme, the power of manifestation 
inseparable from that which Manifests : she is Devi, Maya, 
or Prakriti, the One who is also the many. "In the 

1 Precisely as the Zero may be regarded as a Womb, being the sum and 
source of an infinite series of plus and of minus quantities, such as the 
Extremes or Pairs of opposites of the relative world. 
240 



Nirvana 

root she is all-Brahman; in the stem she is all-illusion; in 
the flower she is all-world; and in the fruit all-liberation" 
— (Tantra Tattoo)? 

Nirvana 

The Mahayana doctrine of Nirvana requires somewhat 
lengthier consideration. We have seen that in earlier 
Buddhism Nibbana meant the dying out of the fires of 
passion, resentment, and infatuation, and the dissolution 
of the individual personality, but what more or less than 
this it meant metaphysically, Gautama would not say, 
and he plainly condemns speculation as unedifying. 
Mahayanists however do not hesitate to develop a far- 
reaching idealism, similar to that of the Vedanta, and 
logically develop the early Buddhism phenomenalism 
into a complete nihilism which, as we have seen, declares 

1 " Nature ariseth," says Behmen, " in the outflown word of the divine 
perception and knowledge." " The wisdom is the great Mystery of the 
divine nature; for in her the powers, colours and virtues are made 
manifest ; in her is the variation of the power and the virtue, viz. the 
understanding: she is the divine understanding — that is, the divine 
vision, wherein the Unity is manifest ... in which the images of 
angels and souls have been seen from eternity . . . therein have lain 
all things in one only ground, as an image lieth hid in a piece of wood 
before the artificer doth carve it out and fashion it " {The Clavis). 
"At the time of creation Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesvara and other 
devas are born of the body of that beginningless and eternal Kalika, 
and at the time of dissolution they again disappear in Her " (Nirvana 
Tantra). Kalika is one of the many names of Devi, Sakti, Prakriti, 
ParvatI, Kali, etc: she is as Uma, the "wisdom that hath eaten up 
my mind and rid me of the sense of I and my " (Tayumanavar) : 
"who with the absolute inseparably is blended as flower with scent, as 
sun and ray, as life and body . . . her children, all living things with 
ceaseless bliss ambrosial nourishing" (Chidambara Swami). It is not 
without significance that the traditional name of Gautama's earthly 
mother is Maya. 

Q 241 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

that the whole world of becoming is truly void and 
unreal. 

This ' nihilism ' is carried to its farthest extreme in works 
such as the Prajndpdmmitds 1 and the Vajracchectika 
Siltra : we read, for example, in the latter work : 
"And again, O Subhuti, a gift should not be given by 
a Bodhisattva, while he still believes in the reality of 
objects ; a gift should not be given by him while he yet 
believes in anything ; a gift should not be given by him 
while he still believes in form ; a gift should not be given 
by him while he still believes in the special qualities of 
sound, smell, taste, and touch. . . . And why ? Because 
that Bodhisattva, O Subhuti, who gives a gift, without 
believing in anything, the measure of his stock of merit 
is not easy to learn ! " 

And this denial of entity is carried to the logical extreme 
of denying the existence of scripture : 
" ' Then what do you think, O Subhuti, is there any 
doctrine that was preached by the Tathagata ? ' Subhuti 
said : ' Not so, indeed, O Worshipful, There is not any- 
thing that was preached by the Tathagata.' " 
Even more striking is the famous ' Middle Path of Eight 
Noes ' of Nagarjuna : 

" There is no production {utpdda), no destruction (uccheda), 
no annihilation (nirodhd), no persistence {sdsvata), no unity 
{ekdrthd)) no plurality (ndndrtha), no coming in {dgamana), 
and no going forth (nirgama)" 

This view, however, is not properly to be understood as 
mere nihilism ; it is constantly emphasized that things of 

1 So called because they treat at length of the Six Perfections (Para- 
mitas) of a Bodhisattva, and the last of these in particular. The Six 
Perfections are ddna, charity ; sl/a, morality ; khsanti, meekness ; virya, 
energy ; dkydna, meditation ; and prajnd, wisdom. 

242 



Nagarjuna 

all kinds neither exist nor do not exist. We may under- 
stand this ' middle view ' in either of two ways : as the 
doctrine that of that which is other than phenomenal there 
cannot be any predication of existence or non-existence ; 
or as the doctrine that from the standpoint of the Abso- 
lute, things have no existence, while from the standpoint 
of the Relative, they have a relative being. 

Nagarjuna 

The latter view is distinctly maintained by Nagarjuna, 
who, like Asvaghosa, must have been originally a Brah- 
man, and lived about the end of the second century 
a.d. The Middle View just mentioned is -set forth by 
him in the Mddhyamika sutras. And here Nagarjuna 
gives a very clear answer to the objection that, if all be 
'Void,' then, the Four Ariyan Truths, the Order of 
Brethren, and Buddha himself must be considered to be 
and have been unreal : he meets the difficulty precisely as 
Sankaracarya meets the inconsistencies of the Upanishads, 
by saying that the Buddha speaks of two truths, the one 
Truth in the highest sense, absolute, the other a conven- 
tional and relative truth; he who does not comprehend 
the distinction of these cannot understand the deeper 
import of the teaching of the Buddha. 1 

1 The Western student will of course meet with similar contradictions 
in the Christian gospels. When Christ says ' I and my Father are 
One,' that is absolute truth; when He speaks upon the cross as if 
1 forsaken ' by the Father, that is a relative truth only. When He says 
that Mary has chosen the good part that shall not be taken away from 
her, that is absolute \ but when He commands us to render unto Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's, He recognizes again the realm of relativity. 
Here also it may be said that he who does not recognize the dis- 
tinction of relative and absolute truth, cannot be said to understand the 
gospel of Christ. 

243 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

The Mahayana is thus far from affirming that Nirvana is 
non-existence pure and simple ; it does not hesitate to say 
that to lose our life is to save it. Nirvana is positive, 
or positively is ; even for the individual it cannot be said 
to come to be, or to be entered into ; it merely comes to 
be realized, so soon as that ignorance is overcome which 
obscures the knowledge of our real freedom, which 
nothing has ever infringed, or ever can infringe. Nirvana 
is that which is not lacking, is not acquired, is not inter- 
mittent, is not non-intermittent, is not subject to destruction, 
and is not created, whose sign is the absence of signs, which 
transcends alike non-Being and Being. The Mahayana 
Nirvana cannot be better explained than in the words of the 
great Sufi Al-Hujwiri — " When a man becomes annihilated 
from his attributes he attains to perfect subsistence, he is 
neither near nor far, neither stranger nor intimate, neither 
sober nor intoxicated, neither separated nor united; he 
has no name, or sign, or brand or mark " {Kaskf al-Mah- 
jub). It is the realization of the infinite love and infinite 
wisdom, where knowledge and love alike proclaim identity, 
that constitute this Nirvana. He in whom the Heart of 
Wisdom awakes, however, does not shrink from future 
rebirths, "but plunges himself into the ever rushing 
current of Samsara and sacrifices himself to save his 
fellow creatures from being eternally drowned in it." He 
does not shrink from experience, for "just as the lotus- 
flowers do not grow on the dry land, but spring from the 
dark and watery mud, so is it with the Heart of Wisdom, 
it is by virtue of passion and sin that the seeds and 
sprouts of Buddhahood are able to grow, and not from 
inaction and eternal annihilation" (Vimala-kirti Stura). 
Mahayana non-duality culminates in the magnificent 
paradox of the identity of Nirvana with the Samsara, 
244 



Mahayana Mysticism 

the non -distinction of the unshown and the shown — 
" this our worldly life is an activity of Nirvana itself, not 
the slightest distinction exists between them " — (Nagar- 
juna, Madhyamika Sdstra). This view is expressed with 
dramatic force in the aphorism, ' Yas klesas so bodki, yas 
samsaras tat nhvanam? That which is sin is also Wisdom, 
the realm of Becoming is also Nirvana. 1 One and the 
same is the heart of Suchness and the Heart of Birth-and- 
Death — 'what is immortal and what is mortal are 
harmoniously blended, for they are not one, nor are they 
separate ' — (Asvaghosha). If the truth is not to be 
found in our everyday experience, it will not be found by 
searching elsewhere. 

Mahayana mysticism 

It scarcely needs to be pointed out, though it is important 
to realize, that this is the ultimate position to which the 
mystics of every age and inheritance have ultimately 
returned. It is that of Blake when he says that the notion 
that a man has a body distinct from his soul must be 
expunged, and that it is only because the doors of per- 
ception are closed — by ignorance — that we do not see all 
things as they are, infinite. It is that of Kablr when he 
says — " in the home is reality ; the home helps to attain 
Him who is real — I behold His beauty everywhere " ; and 
when he asks, " What is the difference between the river 
and its waves ; because it has been named as wave, shall 

1 Mahayana monism is thus totalistic : it affirms the unreality of 
phenomena as such, but equally affirms their significance. This life is 
a dream, but not without meaning. There is no sanction for this 
doctrine in early Buddhism, and in one place it is also condemned by 
Asvaghosha as born of the devil {The Awakening of Faith, trans. 
T. Suzuki, page 137); perhaps it was sometimes misunderstood in the 
sense of ' Let us eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die.' 

245 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

s it no longer be considered water ? " It is that of Behmen 
when he says the Enochian life " is in this world, yet as 
it were swallowed up in the Mystery ; but it is not altered 
in itself, it is only withdrawn from our sight and our 
sense ; for if our eyes were opened, we should see it " : x 
Paradise is still upon earth, and only because of our 
self-thinking and self-willing we do not see and hear 
God. 2 It is that of Whitman, when he says there " will 
never be any more perfection than there is now, nor any 
more of heaven or hell than there is now," and inquires, 
" Why should I wish to see God better than this day ? " 

Strange and hard that paradox true I give, 
Objects gross and the unseen soul are one. 

The Buddhas 

In the realm of absolute {paramartha) truth we may speak 
only of the Dharmakaya as void. But there exists also 
for us a realm of relative {samvritti) truth where the 
Absolute is made manifest by name and form ; to the 
dwellers in heaven as Sambhogakaya, the Body of Bliss, 
and to those on earth as Nirmanakaya, the Body of 
Transformation. 

The Sambhogakaya is the Buddha or Buddhas regarded 
as God in heaven, determined by name and form, but 
omniscient, omnipresent, and within the law of causality, 
omnipotent. A Buddha, in this sense, is identical with 

1 The Forty Questions. 

2 The Super sensual Life, Dialogue i. Closely parallel to a passage of 
the Avatamsaka Sutra : " Child of Buddha, there is not even one living 
being that has not the wisdom of the Tathagata. It is only because of 
their vain thought and affections that all beings are not conscious of 
this." 

246 






i The Buddhas 

the Brahmanical ' Isvara,' who may be worshipped under 
various names {e.g. as Vishnu or as Siva), the worshipper 
attaining the heaven ruled by him whom he worships, 
though he knows that all of these forms are [essentially 
one and the same. The Mahayana does in fact multiply 
the number of Buddhas indefinitely and quite logically, 
since it is the goal of every individual to become a 
Buddha. The nature of these Buddhas and their heavens 
will be best realized if we describe the most popular of all, 
whose name is Amitabha, or Amida. 
Amitabha Buddha rules over the heaven Sukhavati, the 
Pure Land or Western Paradise. With him are associated 
the historical Gautama as earthly emanation, and the 
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the Saviour (Plate R). 
The history of Amitabha relates that many long ages ago 
he was a great king, who left his throne to become a 
wanderer, and he attained to Bodhisattvahood under the 
guidance of the Buddha, that is, the human Buddha then 
manifest ; and he made a series of great vows, both to 
become a Buddha for the sake of saving all living things, 
and to create a heaven where the souls of the blessed 
might enjoy an age-long state of happiness, wisdom and 
purity. The eighteenth of these vows is the chief source 
of the popular development of Amidism, as the belief of 
the worshippers of Amitabha is styled. This vow runs as 
follows : 

" When I become Buddha, let all living beings of the ten 
regions of the universe maintain a confident and joyful 
faith in me ; let them concentrate their longings on a re- 
birth in my Paradise; and let them call upon my name, 
though it be only ten times or less : then, provided only 
they have not been guilty of the five heinous sins, and 
have not slandered or vilified the true religion, the 

247 



Buddha ftf the Gospel of Buddhism 

desire of such beings to be born in my Paradise will be 
surely fulfilled. If this be not so, may I never receive 
the perfect enlightenment of Buddahood." 
This is a fully developed doctrine of salvation by faith. 
The parallel with some forms of Christianity is very 
close. Amitabha both * draws' men to himself, and 
' sent ' his son Gautama to lead men to him, and he is 
ever accessible through the holy spirit of Avalokitesvara. 
The efficacy of death-bed repentance is admitted ; and in 
any case the dying Amidist should contemplate the 
glorious figure of Amitabha, just as the dying Catholic 
fixes his eyes upon the Crucifix upheld by the priest who 
administers extreme unction. The faithful Amidist is 
carried immediately to heaven, and is there reborn with a 
spiritual body within the calyx of one of the lotuses of the 
sacred lake. But those of less virtue must wait long 
before their lotus expands, and until then they cannot see 
God. Those who have committed one of the five heinous 
sins, and yet have called on Amitabha's name, must wait 
for countless ages, a period of time beyond conception, 
before their flowers open; just as, according to Behmen, 
those souls that depart from the body " without Christ's 
body, hanging as it were by a thread," must wait for the 
last day, ere they come forth. Another Mahayanist idea, 
that the heaven of a Buddha is coextensive with the 
universe, is also to be found in Behmen, who, to the 
question, " Must not the soul leave the body at death, and 
go either to heaven or hell ? " answers, " There is verily 
no such kind of entering in ; forasmuch as heaven and 
hell are everywhere, being universally extended." Strictly 
speaking, the heaven of Amitabha cannot be identified 
with Nirvana, but is a ' Buddha-field,' where preparation 
for Nirvana is completed. 
248 



The Buddhas 

The following Table will exhibit the complete scheme of 
Mahayana Buddhology : 

ADIBUDDHA 

I 

III II 

Central East South West North 



Buddhas : 

Vairocana Akshobya Ratnasambhava Amitabha Amoghasiddha 



Bodhisattvas , 

Samantabhadra Vajrapani Ratnapani Avalokitesvara Visvapani 

or 
Earthly Padmapani 

Buddhas : 

Kakusandha Konagammana Kassapa Gautama Metteya 

The Mahayana pantheon, however, is extended far beyond 
this simple scheme, to include more than five hundred 
divinities: in the words of Lafcadio Hearn, "a most 
ancient shoreless sea of forms incomprehensibly inter- 
changing and intermingling, but symbolizing the protean 
magic of that infinite Unknown that shapes and reshapes 
for ever all cosmic being." Of all these divinities some 
further account is given below, but there must be men- 
tioned here Prajnaparamita, the Bodhisattvas Manjusri 
(Plate DD) and the Chinese Ti-tsang and Kwannon 
(kwanyin, Plates GG, HH), and also the Taras or 
Saviouresses who are feminine divinities, recognized from 
about the sixth century a.d. as embodying the principle of 
Grace in the Bodhisattvas. The full development of this 
pantheon takes place during the first twelve centuries a.d., 
though its beginnings are earlier. Its final elaboration 
in Lamaistic Buddhism continues later. 
We must now consider the Nirmanakaya, the plane of 
those Buddha-appearances which are emanated or pro- 
jected from the Sambhogakaya as magical earthly ap- 
paritions, a doctrine of revelation in response to the 
spiritual needs of sentient beings. We have already seen 

249 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

that at an early stage of Buddhism Gautama is already made 
to affirm that he is not a man, but a Buddha ; here, in a 
development similar to that of Christian Docetism, we 
find the view put forward that the earthly Buddhas are 
not living men, but ghosts or forms of thought, acting as 
vehicles of the saviour-will which led the Bodhisattva to 
the abyss of Buddhahood. In part, no doubt, this repre- 
sents an attempt to get over the logical difficulty presented 
by the continued survival of the person Gautama for 
many years after the attainment of that enlightenment 
which cuts the connecting bonds of the spiritual compound 
known as personality; this continuance has also been 
aptly compared to the continued spinning of the potter's 
wheel for some time after the hand of the potter has been 
removed, the final physical death of the body being 
likened to the subsequent stopping of the wheel. 

Convenient Means 

Intimately associated with the doctrine of emanation is 
that of Convenient Means (upaya) : " the Heart of Wisdom 
abiding in the Unity creates particular means of salvation " 
(Nagarjuna). The knowledge of these means is one of 
the perfections of Buddhahood, and is the power of 
response to the infinite variety of the spiritual needs of 
sentient beings. The various forms which the divine 
Tathagata assumes, revealing himself in the right place, 
at the right time, and never missing the right opportunity 
and the right word — these manifestations constitute the 
Nirmanakaya. To a certain extent the doctrine of upaya 
corresponds to the ready wit of such teachers as Buddha 
or Christ, who with little effort so effectually render 
aid to those who seek them, and no less effectually con- 
found their opponents : admirably illustrated, for example, 
250 



Convenient Means 

in Gautama's dealing with Gotami the Slender, and in 
many well-known anecdotes of Jesus. Of either it may 
be said, 

He is the Answerer* 

What can be answered he answers* and what cannot be 
answered he shows how it cannot be answered. 

This is also a doctrine of the graduation of truth : faiths 
are not divided into the true and the false, but are so 
many rungs of the ladder, so many separate ladders, that 
lead to One Unknown. The doctrine of upaya implies 
the perfect understanding of human needs by that divine 
intelligence that knows no need in itself, save that implied 
in the saying, Eternity is in love with the productions of time 
— the only reason we can allege for the desire of the One to 
become many. This perfect understanding, " as of father 
with son, comrade with comrade, lover with mistress," * does 
not clash with the intellectual recognition of the gods as 
man-made, and this the Hindus have beautifully recon- 
ciled with the idea of Grace, in the adoration " Thou that 
doest take the forms imagined by Thy worshippers" — 
addressed, indeed, by Saivas to Siva, but no less appropriate 
to the thought of the Mahayana. The doctrine of upaya 
is comparable also with the thought, " He makes himself 
as we are, that we may be as He is." The arts and 
religions of the world are all so many upayas — one source, 
one end, only with diversity of means. 
A second Mahayana school, in some respects divergent 
from the Madhyamika school of Nagarjuna, is the Yoga- 
cara school of Asanga and Vasubandhu. Here three 
kinds of knowledge are recognized in place of two; but 
two of these three are merely a subdivision of relative 

1 Bhagavad Gita, xi, 44. 

251 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

knowledge, into positive error and relative knowledge 
properly so-called. We have thus in place of samvritti 
and paramartha satya : 

(i) Parikalpita satya, for example, when we mistake a 
rope for a snake. 

(2) Paratantra satya, for example, when we recognize 
the rope as a rope. 

(3) Parispanna satya, when we recognize that 'rope' is 
a mere concept, and has no being as a thing in itself. 

Of which (1) and (2) are together samvritti and (3) is 
paramartha. 

The Yogacaras also maintain a form of idealism which 
differs from the absolute agnosticism of the Madhyamikas. 
According to the former, there does really exist a cosmic, 
not impersonal, Mind, called Alaya-vijnana, 1 the All- 
containing, or Ever-enduring, Mind. All things in the 
universe rest in, or rather consist of this substrate. It is 
sometimes confused with the Suchness; but actually 
it corresponds rather to the saguna (qualified) than the 
nirguna (unqualified) Brahman of the Brahmans. It pro- 
vides the basis for a sort of Platonic idealism; for, 
according to the Yogacaras, it is in this Cosmic Mind 
that the germs of all things exist in their ideality. In 
other words, the objective world consists entirely of mind- 
stuff, and it is the illusion born of ignorance that projects 
the real ideas into an external and phenomenal universe. 

///. CI? AN, OR ZEN BUDDHISM 
We have so far set forth the Mahayana according to the 
Madhyamika school of Nagarjuna and the Yogacara school 
of Asanga, with illustration of the Sambhogakaya accord- 
ing to the sect of the Amidists, and with some notice 
1 Hence the Yogacaras are commonly spoken of as Vijfianavadins. 
252 



Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism 

of other special cults, particularly that of Avalokitesvara. 
We shall now notice at greater length another phase of 
the Mahayana, likewise of Indian origin, and of somewhat 
later development in China and Japan. This is the school 
of Bodhidharma, known in China as Ch'an, and in Japan 
as Zen Buddhism, from the Indian word Jhana or Dhyana 
already explained. This Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism, though 
in a practical and more or less intimate way associated with 
the cult of Amitabha, represents the more philosophical and 
mystic aspect of the Mahayana, and is essentially indif- 
ferent to iconolatry and to scriptural authority. This 
phase of Mahayana is little determined by special forms, 
and can scarcely be said to have any other creed than 
that the kingdom of heaven is in the heart of man. This 
school of thought most fully represents the Mahayana as 
a world religion ; for however attractive and picturesque 
may be the imagery of Amitabha's Western Paradise, 
however tender the legendary histories of the deified 
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, these visions of a material 
and sectarian paradise, and these personal divinities can 
claim universal acceptance no more than those of any 
other theistic system. Ch'an Buddhism differs from the 
orthodox and popular Mahayana of the theistic Sutras 
just as the teaching of Christ and of the Christian mystics 
differs from the systematic Christianity of the Churches. 
Furthermore, it is in close alliance with Taoist philosophy, 
and constitutes not merely a religion, but the essential 
culture of the Far East, finding full expression not only 
in belief, but practically in life and art. 
Ch'an Buddhism was founded in China by the patriarch 
Bodhidharma, claimed to be the twenty-eighth in apostolic 
succession from Gautama, in the year 527. This great 
man, whose Chinese ministry lasted for only nine years, 

253 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

and whose personality has yet impressed itself so deeply 
on the memory of the Far East, was of a taciturn and 
even farouche disposition, and little inclined to suffer 
fools gladly. He spent the nine years of his life in China 
(a.d. 527-536) in the Shao Lin monastery, near Loyang, 
achieving little popularity, and earned the nick-name of 
the * Wall-gazing Brahman.' The essence of his doctrine 
asserts that the Buddha is not to be found in images and 
books, but in the heart of man. His followers, as the 
name of the school implies, lay great stress on medita- 
tion ; they avoid the slavish worship of images, the fetters 
of authority, and the evils of priestcraft. 1 
The fundamental principle of Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism, 
may be summed up in the expression that the Universe is 
the scripture of Zen? or more philosophically, the identity 
of the Many and the One, of Samsara with the Brahman, 
This with That. Actual scripture is worthless in the letter, 
and only valuable for that to which it leads ; and to^that goal 
there are other guides than the written page or spoken word. 

1 It must not be supposed, however, that the wide diffusion of Ch'an 
ideas in China has done away with ritual worship, or even with super- 
stition. The creed of the Chinese layman, as in other countries, is 
" often crude, irrational, and superstitious ; he is liable to mistake symbol 
for objective truth ; and he is apt to assume that faith is a sufficient 
guarantee of historic fact." — R. F. Johnston, Buddhist China, p. 96. 
The Ch'an and Amidist parties, respectively philosophical or mystic, 
and devotional, are closely allied — gorgeous shrines are often attached 
to Ch'an monasteries — very much as Christian mysticism is associated 
with the iconolatry of the Roman church. The Chinese Buddhist 
leans to one side or the other according to his temperament and 
spiritual needs. 

2 He, therefore, is the true Teacher 'who makes you perceive the 
Supreme Self wherever the mind attaches itself (Kablr) : for 'Whatever 
thing, of whatsoever kind it be, 'tis wisdom's part in each the real thing 
to see' (Kurraly xxxvi, 5). All is in all. 

2 54 



Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism 

It is related, for example, of the sage Hlien Sha that he 
was one day prepared to deliver a sermon to an assembled 
congregation, and was on the point of beginning, when a 
bird was heard to sing very sweetly close by ; Hlien Sha 
descended from his pulpit with the remark that the 
sermon had been preached. Another sage, Teu Tse, one 
day pointed to a stone lying near the temple gate, and 
remarked, * Therein reside all the Buddhas of the past, 
the present, and the future.' The face of Nature was 
called ' The Sermon of the Inanimate.' 
As we have already indicated, some of these concep- 
tions may be traced back to very early Buddhist origins, 
and it would be easy likewise to point to Western 
parallels. When the Zen teachers point to the rising 
and setting of the sun, to the deep sea, or to the falling 
flakes of snow in winter, and thereby inculcate the lessons 
of Zen, we are reminded of One who bids us consider the 
lilies, which toil not, neither do they spin, and who bids 
us not to be anxious for the morrow. When the mysterious 
visitors to the Chinese island of Puto, being asked 
to explain their religious beliefs, reply, "Our eyes have 
seen the ocean, our ears have heard the winds sighing, 
the rain descending, the sea waves dashing, and the wild 
birds calling," 1 we are reminded of Blake, exclaiming, 
" When thou seest an eagle, thou seest a portion of genius. 
Lift up thy head ! " and " The pride of the peacock is the 
glory of God." 

The lines already quoted — a complete poem in the 
Japanese original — 

Granted this dewdrop world be but a dewdrop world, 
This granted, yet . . . 

1 R. F. Johnston, Buddhist China, p. 388. 

255 



Buddha ®P the Gospel of Buddhism 

are purely of the Zen tradition, though not perhaps its 
most profound expression. That most profound intuition 
is of the one Suchness that finds expression in the very 
transcience of every passing moment : the same indivisible 
being is ever coming to expression, and never expressed, 
in the coming to be and passing away of man and of the 
whole world moment by moment; it is the very heart of 
'culture' and religion to recognize the eternal, not as 
obscured, but as revealed by the transient, to see infinity 
in the grain of sand, the same unborn in every birth, and 
the same undying in every death. These thoughts find 
constant expression in the poetry and art inspired by Zen 
thought. The Morning Glory, for example, fading in 
an hour, is a favourite theme of the Japanese poet and 
painter. What are we to understand by the poem of 
Matsunaga Teitoku ? 

The morning glory blooms but an hour, and yet it differs 

not at heart 
From the giant pine that lives for a thousand years. 

Are we to think of the morning glory as a type and symbol 
of the tragic brevity of our life, as a memento rnori, a re- 
minder of impermanence, like the wagtail's tail ? We may 
do this without error : but there lies beyond this a deeper 
meaning in the words of Matsunaga, something more than 
a lamentation for the very constitution of our experience. 
According to the commentary of Kinso : 
" He who has found the way in the morning may die at 
peace in the evening. To bloom in the morning, to await 
the heat of the sun, and then to perish, such is the lot 
appointed to the morning glory by Providence. There 
are pines, indeed, which have lived for a thousand years, 
but the morning glory, who must die so soon, never for a 
256 



Ch'an, or Zen Buddhism 

moment forgets herself, or shows herself to be envious of 
others. Every morning her flowers unfold, magically fair, 
they yield the natural virtue that has been granted to 
them, then they wither. And thus they perform their 
duty faithfully. Why condemn that faithfulness as vain 
and profitless ? 

"It is the same with the pine as with the morning 
glory, but as the life of the latter is the shorter, it illustrates 
the principle in a more striking way. The giant pine 
does not ponder on its thousand years, nor the morning 
glory on its life of a single day. Each does simply what 
it must. Certainly, the fate of the morning glory is other 
than that of the pine, yet their destiny is alike in this, that 
they fulfil the will of Providence, and are content. Mat- 
sunaga thought his heart was like their heart, and that is 
why he made that poem on the morning glory." 1 
Closely consonant with Matsunaga's poem is Henry 
King's Contemplation upon Flowers. The student will, 
indeed, find that nearly every thought expressed in Budd- 
hist and Hindu literature finds expression in the Western 
world also ; and it could not be otherwise, for the value 
of these thoughts is universal, and therefore they could not 
j be more Oriental than Western ; the East has advanced 
beyond the West only in their wider and fuller acceptance. 

Brave flowers that I could gallant it like you , 

And be as little vain ! 
Yotc come abroad, and make a harmless show, 

And to your beds of earth again. 
You are not proud: you know your birth : 
For your embroidered garments are from earth. 

1 R. Petrucci, La Philosophic de la Nature dans VArt d 'Extreme- 
Orient. 

R 257 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

And with this contrasts the futile longing of man for an 
eternity of happiness : 

You do obey your months and times, but I 

Would have it ever Spring : 
My fate would know no Winter ', never die, 

Nor think of siich a thing. 
that I could my bed of earth but view 
And smile, and look as cheerfully as you ! 

And so it is that the Sermon of the Woods should teach 
us spontaneity of action, to fall in with the natural order 
of the world, neither apathetic nor rebellious, but possess- 
ing our souls in patience. 



258 



PART V : BUDDHIST ART 

/. BUDDHIST LITERATURE 

Language and Writing 

WE may safely assume that Gautama's teaching 
was communicated to his disciples in Magadhi, 
the spoken dialect of his native country. The 
oldest contemporary documents of Buddhist literature, 
the Edicts of Asoka, are written in a later form of the 
sister dialect of Kosala. 1 The Hinayana Buddhist scrip- 
tures, the Theravada Canon or old Buddhist Bible, are 
preserved to us only in the literary dialect known as Pali ; 
while the later Mahayana texts of the Mahayana are com- 
piled to us in Sanskrit, and preserved in that form, or in 
the early Chinese translations. Pali and Sanskrit in 
Buddhist circles play the part which was taken by Latin 
in the Christian Church of the Middle Ages. Pali is a 
literary form based on Magadhi, gradually developed, and 
perhaps only definitely fixed when the scriptures were first 
written down in Ceylon about 80 B.C. 
How can we speak of authentic scriptures which were not 
put into writing until four centuries after the death of 
the teacher whose words are recorded ? That is possible 
in India, though not in Europe. In the time of Gautama, 
a very long period of literary activity was already past, 
and the same activity still continued. Vedic literature, in 
particular, with the exception of the later Upanishads, was 
already ancient, while the work of the great compilers of 
epic poetry, and of the grammarians and lawmen, is only 

1 The Edicts of Asoka, though veritable Buddhist literature, are not 
included in the scriptural canon, and are here referred to in a separate 
chapter, p. 180 seq. 

259 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

a little later, and this literature has been faithfully trans- 
mitted to the present day. There existed also a great 
mass of contemporary popular poetry in the form of 
ballads and romances, tales and proverbs, part of which 
is preserved and embedded in Buddhist and Sanskrit 
literature, such as the Pali Jatakas and the Brahmanical 
epics. And yet it is unlikely that any written books 
existed much before the time of Asoka. 
Writing was first introduced to India about the eighth 
century B.C., probably by merchants trading with the 
cities of the Euphrates valley, but for a long time the 
idea of the written word was regarded in literary circles 
with much disfavour. One curious illustration of this 
appears in the fact that books are not included in the list 
of personal property allowed to be possessed by the 
Brethren. The Indians had long since elaborated a system 
of remembered literature, which, given the certainty of a 
regular succession of teachers and disciples, secured the 
transmission of texts as well, and perhaps better than the 
written page. Because of this mnemonic system, the lack 
of external means of record had not been felt. Study 
consisted, therefore in hearing, and in repeating to one- 
self, not in the reading of books. This tradition has 
survived in considerable vigour to the present day ; it is 
no uncommon thing to meet with Pandits who can repeat 
from memory a body of sacred literature of almost incred- 
ible extent, and it is still believed that " oral instruction 
is far superior to book-learning in maturing the mind and 
developing its powers." It hardly needs to be pointed 
out that many great thinkers, both ancient and modern, 
have shared this view. Plato suggests that the invention 
of letters "will produce forgetfulness in the minds of 
those who learn it, through neglect of memory, for that, 
260 



Language and Writing 

through trusting to writing, they will remember outwardly 
by means of foreign marks, and not inwardly by means 
of their own faculties ; " while Nietzsche exclaims that 
" He that writeth in blood and proverbs, doth not want to 
be read, but to be learnt by heart." In point of fact the 
principal literary form of the age of Gautama is that of 
the Sutra or Sutta, a ' string ' of logia to be learnt by 
heart; and almost all early Indian literature, even the 
literature of law and grammar, is compiled in verse. 
Another reason for regarding writing with disfavour was 
that the written text becomes accessible to all, while the 
Brahmans at any rate wished to withhold the esoteric 
doctrine from those not qualified to understand or to 
make good use of it, and other matter from those who 
would perhaps encroach on their professional rights. The 
system of mnemonic education and pupillary succession 
was also so well organized that there was no fear that the 
well-trained 'rememberer* would ever forget what he 
knew ; the only recognized dangers were that certain texts 
might fall out of favour and so be finally lost, as has 
inevitably happened with a great part of early Indian 
literature, or that some accident might interfere with the 
pupillary or ' apostolic ' succession. Moreover, the means 
of making durable books had not yet been devised in the 
time of Gautama. On the other hand it is clear from the 
mode of publication of Asoka's edicts that a fairly general 
knowledge of writing, a literacy perhaps about the same 
as that of modern India, had been attained by the third 
century B.C. 

The Buddhist canon was first written down in Pali about 
80 B.C., in the reign of King Vattagamani, in Ceylon. It 
is worth while to quote the words of the Sinhalese 
chronicle on this important event : 

261 



Buddha <§P the Gospel of Buddhism 

"The text of the Three Pitakas and the commentary 
thereon did the most wise Bhikkhus hand down in former 
times orally, but since they saw that the people were 
falling away (from the orthodox teaching), the bhikkhus 
met together, and in order that the true doctrines might 
endure, they wrote them down in books." 1 
These texts have been faithfully transmitted to modern 
times by successive copyists. On the other hand it is 
quite certain that a considerable part already existed in 
the same form in the time of Asoka, for some of the texts 
are referred to by name, and with quotation, in the Edicts. 
Without entering upon a long discussion, it will suffice to 
say that some parts of the texts almost as certainly go back 
to an earlier period, and record the sayings and doctrine 
of Gautama as remembered by his immediate disciples. 
The orthodox Hinayanists, however, are not justified in 
asserting that the Pali canon was actually fixed, still less 
that it was written down, at the ' First Council ' imme- 
diately following the death of Gautama; the Buddhist 
Bible, like the Christian, consists of books composed at 
different ages, and many or most of the books are compila- 
tions of materials by many hands and of various periods. 

The Pali Canon 

The Pali canon consists of ' Three Pitakas,' or * Baskets.' 
The Vinaya Pitaka is concerned with the rules of the 
Order of Brethren. It is subdivided as follows : 

SuttavibhangaJ ^ ) . 

& (Pacittiya 

Khandaka (Mahavagga 
(Cullavagga 
Parivara 

1 MaMvamsa, ch. xxxiii. 
262 




A. CALLING THE EARTH TO WITNESS (THE ASSAULT 

OF MARA) 
Cave painting at Dambulla, Ceylon (i8th century) 




B. BUDDHIST LIBRARY, KANDY, CEYLON 



The Pali Canon 

We need not repeat here what has been said elsewhere 
regarding the organization of the Order of bhikkhus. But 
it is of interest to note that the first chapter of the 
Mahavagga contains some of the oldest parts of the 
Buddha legend, relating in dignified archaic language 
how Gautama attained enlightenment, determined to 
preach the Law, and gained his first disciples. Here also 
the First Sermon of the Buddha, at Benares, and the 
well-known Fire Sermon are given, and the ordination of 
Rahula is also related. In the Ctillavagga are found the 
stories of the merchant Anathapindika who dedicated a 
park to the Order ; of Devadatta, Gautama's cousin and 
enemy, the first schismatic; the establishment of the 
order of Sisters ; and a number of edifying anecdotes, all 
connected with the history or constitution of the Order. 
We have already quoted the First Sermon of Gautama, 
in which are set forth the essentials of the Dhamma, the 
Four Ariyan Truths and the Eightfold Path. Here we 
transcribe, with some abbreviation, the almost equally 
famous sermon in which the transient life of the individual, 
subject to grief and tormented by desires is likened to 
existence in the midst of a fire. 

"Then said the Exalted One to his disciples: 'Every- 
thing, O disciples, is in flames. And what Everything, 
O disciples, is in flames? The eye, O disciples, is in 
flames, the visible is in flames, the knowledge of the 
visible is in flames, the contact with the visible is in 
flames, the feeling which arises from contact with the 
visible is in flames, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it neither 
pleasure nor pain, this also is in flames. By what fire 
is it kindled ? By the fire of desire, by the fire of hate, 
by the fire of fascination, it is kindled ; by birth, old age, 
' death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is 

263 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

kindled : thus I say. The ear is in flames, the audible is 
in flames, the knowledge of the audible is in flames, the 
contact with the audible is in flames, the feeling which 
arises from contact with the audible is in flames, be it 
pleasure, be it pain, be it neither pleasure nor pain, this 
also is in flames. By what fire is it kindled? By the 
fire of desire, by the fire of hate, by the fire of fascination, 
it is kindled ; by birth, old age, death, pain, lamentation, 
sorrow, grief, despair, it is kindled; thus I say. The 
sense of smell is in flames' — and then follows for the 
third time the same series of propositions ; — ' the tongue is 
in flames ; the body is in flames ; the mind is in flames ' ; — 
each time the same detail follows unabridged. Then the 
address goes on : 

" ' Knowing this, O disciples, a wise, noble, hearer of the 
word becomes wearied of the eye, he becomes wearied of 
the visible, he becomes wearied of the knowledge of the 
visible, he becomes wearied of contact with the visible, 
he becomes wearied of the feeling which arises from 
contact with the visible, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it 
neither pleasure nor pain. He becomes wearied of the 
ear 5 — and then follows one after the other the whole 
series of ideas as above. The address concludes : 
" ' While he becomes wearied thereof, he becomes free 
from desire ; free from desire, he becomes delivered ; in 
the delivered arises the knowledge: I am delivered; 
rebirth is at an end, perfected is holiness, duty done; 
there is no more returning to this world ; he knows this." 1 
It should be noted that this address is delivered by 
Gautama to an assembly of Brethren already initiated 
and ordained, already familiar with the thought of origin- 
ation and decease. A somewhat different method is 
1 Condensed from Oldenberg. Another version above, p. 42. 
264 



The Pali Canon 

employed in addresses to uninitiated laymen, such as the 
80,000 village elders sent by King Bimbisara to the 
Buddha for instruction. There is in a much more popular 
style — milk for babes. When in another place the Buddha 
is accused of favouritism, inasmuch as he teaches the 
more profound doctrine to his disciples and more simple 
matters to the public, he draws an analogy from the 
operations of a farmer, who devotes the most care to his 
most productive fields (the Brethren), somewhat less 
attention to the less fertile fields (the Buddhist laity), and 
less still to the barren soil (those who do not accept the 
Good Law). 

While Discipline is dealt with in the Vinaya Pitaka, the 
Sutta Pitaka, the \ Basket of Suttas ' is our chief source 
for the Buddha's Gospel as expounded in argument and 
dialogues. Here also are included the " Psalms of the 
Brethren and Sisters," the most important literary pro- 
duction of early Buddhism, and the Jatakas, which 
embody the largest and oldest collection of folklore 
extant. The Sutta Pitaka is divided as follows : 

1. Digha Nikaya \ 2. Majjhima Nikaya\ 3. Samyutta 
Nikaya \ 4. Anguttara Nikaya \ and 5. Khuddaka 
Nikaya. The last, again, includes, 1. Khuddakapatha\ 

2. Dhammapada ; 3. Udana ; 4. Itivuttaka \ 5. Sutta- 
nipata\ 6. Vimanavatthu\ 7. Petavatthu\ 8. Them- 
gat ha \ 9. Therlgatha\ 10. Jataka\ 11. Niddesa\ 12. 
Patisambhidamagga\ 13. Apadana\ 14. Buddhavamsa ; 
and 15. Cai'iyapitaka. 

The first of the Digha Nikaya Suttas is called the Perfect 
Net. In this net are supposed to be caught and exposed 
each and all of sixty-two different philosophies which 
proceed from the ancient animistic conception of soul 
as a subtle, permanent entity within the body, and 

265 



Buddha df the Gospel of Buddhism 

independent of the life of the body. These various 
eel-wrigglers, as Gautama calls them, he says are all 
of them trapped in the net of the sixty-two modes : 
"this way and that they plunge about, but they are in 
it; this way and that they may flounder, but they are 
included in it, caught in it. Just, brethren, as when 
a skilful fisherman or fisher-lad should drag a tiny pool 
of water with a fine-meshed net he might fairly think : 
'Whatever fish of size may be in this pond, every one 
will be in this net ; flounder about as they may, they will 
be included in it, and caught ' ; just so is it with these 
speculators about the past and future, in this net, flounder 
as they may, they are included and caught." 
It is unfortunate that in all these cases we hear only one 
side of the argument, which always appears to leave 
no way of escape for the 'skilled absolutist.' If ever 
Gautama met his match we should like to hear what 
passed on such an occasion. 

Of more enduring interest is the Sutta upon the Fruits of 
the Life of a Wanderer. Here, moreover, we do not get 
a purely Buddhist, but rather an Indian point of view. 
The whole Sutta constitutes a reply to the question, 
what advantage is the life of a recluse? King Ajata- 
sattu of Magadha points out the gain that men derive from 
their worldly occupations, and. wishes to know what corre- 
sponding fruit, visible here and now, the members of a 
religious Order obtain. Gautama replies that the fruit 
of the life of the member of an Order may be seen in : 
i. The honour and respect shown to such men by others 
in the world; even the king, for example, would show 
respect to a man who had formerly been a slave or a 
servant, if he adopted the homeless life. 2. The train- 
ing in mere morality, as kindness, honesty, chastity, etc. 
266 



The Pali Canon 

3. Confidence, freedom from fear, etc., born of conscious 
rectitude. 4 and 5. Recollectedness and self-possession. 
6. Contentment with little. 7. Emancipation from the 
Five Hindrances: Covetousness, ill-temper, laziness, 
anxiety and perplexity. 8. The consequent joy and 
peace. 9. Practice of the Four Jhanas. 10. Insight 
arising from knowledge. 11. The power of projecting 
mental images. 12. Five modes of mediumship and 
clairvoyance (thought-reading, audition, etc.); 1 and 
finally 13 (which alone is distinctively Buddhist), 
realization of the Four Truths, destruction of the 
Flood of Passion, attainment of Arahatta. 
The argument concludes : 

" Thus with the pure Heavenly Eye, surpassing that of 
men, he sees beings as they pass away from one state 
of existence, and take form in another ; he recognizes the 
mean and the noble, the well-favoured and the ill-favoured, 
the happy and the wretched, passing away according to 
their deeds." 2 

And the recluse perceives the Four Ariyan Truths, 
" and he knows Rebirth has been destroyed. The higher 

1 These are practices generally, but by no means always, condemned 
in early Buddhist scriptures. 

2 I quote this passage on the Heavenly Eye {Dibba-cakkhu) — omniscient 
vision of all that comes to pass in the Kamaloka and Rupaloka — 
because the same idea in a less mythical form frequently recurs in 
Indian writings, with reference to the intuition of men of genius 
generally ; it can be paralleled elsewhere, e.g. Chuang Tzu : " The 
mind of the sage being in repose becomes the mirror of the Universe, 
the speculum of all creation/' and William Morris : " It seems to me 
that no hour of the day passes that the whole world does not show 
itself to me." Buddhists also recognize the Dhamma-cakkhu (Eye for 
the Truth) and Panna-cakkhu (Eye of Wisdom). In Hindu mythology 
these three modes of f vision ' are symbolized by the third eye which 
opens on the brow of Siva. 

267 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

life has been fulfilled. What had to be done has been accom- 
plished. After this present life there will be no beyond ! 
"Just, O king, as if in a mountain fastness there were a 
pool of water, clear, translucent, and serene ; and a man, 
standing on the bank, and with eyes to see, should 
perceive the shellfish, the gravel and the pebbles and the 
shoals of fish, as they move about or lie within it : he 
would know : ' This pool is clear, transparent and serene, 
and there within it are the shellfish, and the sand and 
gravel, and that the shoals of fish are moving about or 
lying still.' 

"This, O king, is an immediate fruit of the life of a 
recluse, visible in this world, and higher and sweeter 
than the last. And there is no fruit of the life of a 
recluse, visible in this world, that is higher and sweeter 
than this." 

The Tevijja Sutta, one of the very few which emphasize 
the advantage of rebirth in the Brahma heavens, while 
leaving out of account the fundamental idea of Ara- 
hatta, is remarkable for the beautiful description of the 
Four Sublime Moods which, if they are not the end of 
Buddhist culture, are at any rate its initiation : 
" And he lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world 
with thoughts of Love, and so the second, and so the 
third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole world, 
above, below, around, and everywhere, does he continue 
to pervade with heart of Love, far-reaching, grown great, 
and beyond measure. 

"Just, Vasettha, as a mighty trumpeter makes himself 
heard — and that without difficulty — in all the four 
directions ; even so of all things that have shape or life, 
there is not one that he passes by or leaves aside, but 
regards them all with mind set free, and deep-felt love. 
268 



The Pali Canon 

" Verily this, Vasettha, is the way to a state of union with 
Brahma." 

Exactly the same formula is repeated in the case of the 
three other moods, Compassion, Sympathy, and Im- 
partiality. 

The Sigalavada Sutta consists of a discourse in which 
the Buddha lays down for a young layman the duties of 
those who live in the world, in general accord with the 
injunctions of Brahmanical scriptures. 
A Sutta of greater importance is the Mahaparinibbana, 
the Great Sutta of the Full Release, in which the last 
days and last words of the Teacher are recorded. Some 
parts of this date back almost certainly to the memory of 
the Buddha's immediate disciples. Undoubtedly old, for 
example, is the famous saying : 

"Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. 
Be ye your own refuge. Hold fast to the Norm as your 
Light, fast to the Norm as your Refuge." 
So too the description of Ananda's overwhelming grief, 
leaning against a door-post and weeping, until the Master 
sends for and speaks to him words of consolation. Many 
of the verses scattered through the prose, and marking 
moments of heightened emotion, must be ancient. In all 
these more ancient passages the Buddha speaks entirely 
as a man to man ; but elsewhere in the same work super- 
natural powers and portents are freely introduced. A 
number of quotations from this Sutta have already been 
given in earlier chapters. 

The Payasi Sutta maintains an argument in favour of the 
existence of a soul quite contrary to the real genius of early 
Buddhist thought. It is true the upholder of the Buddhist 
position is the venerable Kumara Kassapa, and not 
Gautama himself ; still it is taken to be the Buddhist 

269 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

position, and it is very curious to see the sceptical Payasi 
inquiring: "But who lets Master Kassapa know all these 
things: that there are Three-and-Thirty Gods, or that 
the Three-and-Thirty Gods live so many years ? We do 
not believe him when he says these things." This is 
evidence that some of the early Buddhists, at least, took 
very seriously their pantheon of minor divinities. 
The Majjhima Nikaya contains a number — 152 — of 
sermons and dialogues which are shorter than those 
of the Digha Nikaya. 

The Samyutta Nikaya contains fifty-six groups of Suttas 
dealing with connected subjects or persons. The Mara- 
samyutta, and the Bhikkunisamyutta for example, num- 
bers four and five in the series, contain a group of 
legends in which Mara the Tempter appears to the 
Buddha, to his disciples, or to one or other of the 
Sisters, and endeavours to shake their faith. These 
Suttas are cast in the old form of conte fable, an 
alternation of prose and verse, the Indian name of which 
is akhyana. Amongst these ballads are some of the 
most beautiful of old Indian poems ; we recognize in them 
also many of the elements of a primitive drama, the 
material from which drama may have developed, but we 
cannot speak of them as early Buddhist dramas in them- 
selves, for they are neither sufficiently elaborated, nor was 
any such worldly activity as the drama tolerated in the 
rule of the Brethren. Only at a considerably later date 
(Asvaghosha) do we find Buddhist poets creating admit- 
tedly dramatic works. Of the spiritual ballads now under 
consideration, the following of Gotami the Slender — the 
story of whose conversion has already been given (p. 148 f.) 
— will serve as a good example : 

" Thus have I heard. The Master was once staying at 
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The Pali Canon 

Savatthi, in the Jetta grove, the park of Anathapindika. 
Sister Kisa Gotami dressed herself early, and taking the 
alms-bowl beneath her robe, went to Savatthi to beg her 
food. And when she had gone about Savatthi and 
returned with what she had collected, and had duly eaten, 
she entered the Dark Wood, and sat her down at the foot 
of a tree thinking to pass the day there. 
"Then the evil Mara, desiring to arouse fear, wavering, 
and dread in her, desiring to make her to desist from her 
concentred thought, went up to her. And he addressed 
Kisa Gotami in the verse that follows : 

6 How comes it thou dost sit with tear-stained face 
Like to some mother that has lost her child? 
Here dwelling all alone within the forest depths 
Is it, perhaps, a man thou lookest for ? ' 

" Then Gotami the Slender reflected : Who is this, whether 
human or not-human, who has spoken such a verse? 
And it came into her mind: It is the evil Mara, who 
seeks to arouse in me fear, wavering, and dread, and 
would make me to desist from my concentred thought ; 
he' has spoken the verse. And when the Sister Kisa 
Gotami knew that it was Mara, she replied to him in the 
verse that follows : 

Tis sooth indeed that I am she whose child is lost for ever : 1 
While as for men^ they are not hard to find I 

I do not weep nor wail, nor have I any fear of thee, my friend: 

Love of the world is utterly destroyed, the gloom is rent 
in twain y 

And I have overcome the hosts of Death 

And here I dwell, from all the Deadly Floods emancipate? 

1 The words f for ever ' convey the thought that while Gotami had lost 
her child, yet, being an Arahat, never again would she suffer the like loss. 

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Buddha {§? the Gospel of Buddhism 

" Then Mara vanished thence, sorry and dejected, think- 
ing : Sister Gotami knoweth me." 

The Anguttara Nikaya is a very extensive work, contain- 
ing at least 2308 Suttas. These are classified in sections, 
numbered one to eleven, the Suttas in each section dealing 
with such things of which there are as many as the num- 
ber of the Sutta itself. Thus in the Second Section the 
Suttas speak of the two things which a man should 
avoid, the two kinds of Buddhas, the two virtues of the 
forest-life ; in the Third Section the Suttas speak of the 
trinity of Thought, Word, and Deed, and the three sorts of 
monks ; in the Fourth Section, the four things which lead 
to a cessation of Becoming, the four that lead to Purga- 
tory, the four that lead to Paradise, and so forth ; in the 
Eighth Section, the eight ways in which man and woman 
mutually hinder each other, and the eight causes of an 
earthquake; in the Tenth Section, the ten powers of a 
Buddha. Needless to point out, the arrangement is formal 
and pedantic, and the general tone is also somewhat dry. 
One of the best passages, however, is that which speaks 
of the Three Messengers of the Gods — Old Age, Illness, 
and Death — of whom King Yama asks the misdoers who 
fall into Purgatory, thus : 

"'O man, did you not see the first of Death's messengers 
visibly appear among men ? ' 
" He replies : ' Lord, I did not.' 

"Then, O Brethren, King Yama says to him: 'O man, 
did you not see among men a woman or a man, eighty or 
ninety or hundred years of age, decrepit, crooked as the 
curved rafter of a gable roof, bowed down, leaning on a 
staff, trembling as he walked, miserable, with youth long 
fled, broken-toothed, grey-haired and nearly bald, totter- 
ing, with wrinkled brow, and blotched with freckles ? ' 
272 



The Pali Canon 

" He replied, < Lord, I did.' 

"Then, O Brethren, King Yama says to him : * O man, did 
it not occur to you, being a person of mature intelligence 
and years : "lam also subject to old age, and in no way 
exempt. Come now, I will act nobly, in deed, word, and 
thought ?'" 

" He replies : * Lord, I could not. Lord, I did not think.' 
"Then, O Brethren, King Yama says to him: 'O man, 
through thoughtlessness you failed to act nobly in deed, 
word, and thought. Verily it shall be done unto you, O 
man, in accordance with your thoughtlessness. ... It 
was you yourself who did this wickedness, and you alone 
shall feel its consequences I " 

From the literary point of view we may remark three 
characteristics of the Suttas so far considered. First 
of all, the repetitions, of which an example will be found 
in the Fire Sermon quoted above. It is almost impossible 
to put such texts before a modern reader without con- 
densation, and without the use of the conjunction 'and,' 
and without pronouns, as they are in the original, to say 
nothing of the tedious reiteration of every phrase and 
every shade of thought. 

"The periods of these addresses," says Professor Olden- 
berg, " in their motionless and rigid uniformity, on which 
no lights and shadows fall, are an accurate picture of the 
world as it represented itself to the eye of that monastic 
fraternity, the grim world of origination and decease, 
which goes on like clockwork in an ever uniform course, 
and behind which rests the still deep of the Nirvana. In 
the words of this ministry, there is heard no sound of 
working within ... no impassional entreating of men to 
come to the faith, no bitterness for the unbelieving who 
remain afar off. In these addresses, one word, one 

s 273 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

sentence, lies beside another in stony stillness, whether 
it expresses the most trivial thing or the most important. 
As worlds of gods and men are, for the Buddhist con- 
sciousness, ruled by everlasting necessity, so also are the 
worlds of ideas and of verities: for these, too, there is 
one, and only one, necessary form of knowledge and 
expression, and the thinker does not make this form but 
he adopts what is ready to hand . . . and thus those 
endless repetitions accumulate which Buddha's disciples 
were never tired of listening to anew, and always honour- 
ing afresh as the necessary garb of holy thought. ,, 
The Buddhist authors were perhaps so much impressed 
by and so pleased with the excellent doctrine, that they 
did not feel the repetitions wearisome, they could not hear 
too often the hard-won truths that had set them free. We 
have a glimpse of this point of view in one of Asoka's 
Edicts, where the Emperor says : 

" Certain phrases have been uttered again and again by 
reason of the honeyed sweetness of such and such a topic, 
in the hope that the people may act up to them." 
The early Buddhists had no wish to make their scriptures 
interesting, and it is very true that they 'have but one 
taste.' At the same time it is most likely that this 
extremely serious and indeed heavy style, made eloquent 
only by its very seriousness — it is not to be denied 
that the method of line upon line has a certain cumulative 
impressiveness, a kind of noble austerity and patience, a 
'sublime monotony* — really reflects the manner of speech 
of the Buddha himself. For Gautama is not — like Jesus 
— a poet and a mystic, but a psychologist : * he does not 

1 If Gautama was indeed a mystic, as the Mahayanists claim, it is then 
to Buddhaghosha and other of the Pali authors whom we must regard as 
chiefly responsible for ' Pali Buddhism.' 
274 




374 



THE BUDDHA TEACHING 

Gilt bronze, Laos, in Gupta style, but probably mediaeval 

Collection of Mr Victor Golonbew 



The Pali Canon 

speak to uneducated fishermen, but to practised meta- 
physicians, and in an atmosphere of controversy: he 
makes no personal appeal, he speaks with well-considered 
purpose rather than enthusiasm or fervour, and he is 
concerned to leave no loophole for possible or deliberate 
misunderstandings. He feels, indeed, some apprehension 
lest in future the most profound sermons should be 
neglected in favour of more artistic and attractive com- 
positions : 

"Some there are," he says, "who hearken willingly to 
the works of followers of mine who are poets, poetasters, 
litterateurs, or mystics . . . and who allow the sermons 
of the Tathagata, of profound import, transcendent, and 
devoted to the doctrine of the Void, to be forgotten." 
We may thus believe that the more poetical and literary 
books were only little by little and with some difficulty 
admitted to the canon ; and this is probably the explana- 
tion of the fact that they are for the most part gathered 
together in one Nikaya, the Kkuddaka, which was most 
likely included in the authoritative scripture at a com- 
paratively late date, though of course it contains abund- 
ance of ancient matter side by side with the younger. 
The second characteristic which we remark in the Suttas 
so far discussed is the dialectic method of the Buddha's 
argument. The manner of his speech is always courteous 
and friendly : 

'* The method followed is always the same. Gautama puts 
himself as far as possible in the mental position of the 
questioner. He attacks none of his cherished convictions. 
He accepts as the starting-point of his own exposition the 
desirability of the act or condition prized by his opponent. 
. . . He even adopts the very phraseology of the ques- 
tioner. And then, partly by putting a new and (from the 

2 75 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

Buddhist point of view) a higher meaning into the words ; 
partly by an appeal to such ethical conceptions as are 
common ground between them ; he gradually leads his 
opponent up to his conclusion. This is, of course, always 
Arahatship." x 

This is the method of the Socratic dialogue ; and we may 
also take it that in the Dialogues extant we have at least 
as much of the actual teaching of Gautama preserved, 
as Plato gives of the teaching of Socrates. The method, 
however, presupposes an acquaintance with the point of 
view of the Buddha's opponents, since, as Professor Rhys 
Davids justly remarks, the argumentum ad hominem can 
never be quite the same as a general statement made 
without reference to the opposite view. There is also the 
disadvantage that the argument is made to lead to a fore- 
gone conclusion, and though the logical sequence may be 
indisputable, the twisting of words in a new sense some- 
times ' corners ' the opponent without meeting his real 
position. We do not really hear both sides of the case. 
As Professor Oldenberg truly comments : " Those who 
converse with Buddha are good for nothing else but 
simply to say /Yes,' and to be eventually converted, if 
they have not yet been converted." Subject to this 
limitation, and apart from the wearisome repetitions, we 
can nevertheless recognize that the Dialogues are skil- 
fully constructed and couched in language of restraint 
and dignity. 

A third special characteristic of the Suttas is the constant 
use of simile and parable. A simile, indeed, is not an 
argument; but it often serves better to convince the 
listener than any sequence of close reasoning. Many of 
the similes are well-found, and additional to their value 
1 Rhys Davids, Dialogues of the Buddha^ i, p. 206. 
276 



The Pali Canon 

for edification, they throw a strong light on the every- 
day life of ancient India, very welcome to the historian 
of manners. Those which refer to the crafts are of special 
interest : we read, for example : 

"Just, O king, as a clever potter or his apprentice could 
make, could succeed in getting out of properly prepared 
clay any shape of vessel he wanted to have, or an ivory 
carver out of ivory, or a goldsmith out of gold : such, 
O king, is the Skill which is an immediate fruit of the 
life of a reel use.' ' — Samanna-phala Sutta. 
And with reference to the practice of breathing exercises, 
and mindfulness: 

" Even as a skilful turner, or turner's apprentice, drawing 
his string at length, or drawing it out short, is conscious 
that he is doing one or the other, so let a Brother practise 
inhaling and exhaling." — Maha Satthipatthana Sutta* 
A favourite simile is that of the oil-lamp : 
" Just, O Brethren, as an oil-lamp burns oil and wick, and 
a man from time to time adds more oil and renews the 
wick, this oil-lamp thus fed with fuel burns for a much 
longer time— so, Brethren, waxes Craving in the man 
who finds his pleasure in things of the world, that in 
sooth are nought but bonds." — Samyutta Nikaya. 
Another favourite simile is that of the lotus, for 
" * Just as the lotus born of watery mud, grows in the 
water, rises above the water, and is not defiled by it : so 
have I arisen in the world, and passed beyond the world, 
and am not defiled by the world,' says Gautama." — 
Samyutta Nikaya. 

The lotus has thus become a symbol of purity ; and in 
iconography, when an apparitional character had been 
given to the figure of the Buddha, and in the case of 
other superhuman beings, the lotus pedestal or seat is a 

277 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

mark of other-worldly and divine origin or nature. Need- 
less to say the lotus, in literature, is the source of many 
other similes and metaphors, for the most part not 
specifically Buddhist. 

In general also, the lotus stands for anything that is 
excellent and well-liked : 

"The boy Vipassi, Brethren, became the darling and 
beloved of the people, even as a blue or rose or white 
lotus is dear to and beloved of all, so that he was literally 
carried about from lap to lap." — Mahapadana Sutta. 
In another place the true spiritual life is compared to 
a lute, of which the strings must be neither too loosely 
nor too tightly stretched ; by this is indicated the internal 
balance and harmony of the ideal character. The teaching 
of salvation, again, is compared to the healing work of 
the physician, who removes from a wound the poisoned 
arrow, and applies the curing herbs. Sometimes the 
similes are humorous, as when it is pointed out that 
if a man should milk a cow by the horns, he would get 
no milk; or if one should fill a vessel with sand and 
water, and churn it ever so much, sesamum oil would 
never be produced ; just so a monk will never reach his 
goal unless he goes the right way about it. 
In other cases the parable is not merely valueless as 
argument, but absolutely futile. When, for example, it 
is desired to expose the social and spiritual pretensions 
of the Brahmans, Gautama inquires if a fire should 
be lighted by a Brahman, a Kshattriya, a Vaishya and a 
Sudra : would the fires lit by Brahmans and Kshattriyas 
alone give light and heat, or would the fires lit by out- 
casts, hunters and sweepers, not also yield their light 
and heat? The king with whom Gautama speaks can 
naturally only answer that the fires will not differ in their 
278 



The Pali Canon 

properties. But what has this to do with a discussion for 
or against the Brahmanical scheme of social differentiation ? 
That all men have many things in common does not 
prove that all men are alike in every particular, nor does 
it disprove the advantage of hereditary culture: the 
whole discussion, like so many others which turn upon 
analogy, is neither here nor there. 

The contents of the Khuddaka Nikaya are very varied. 
Most of the works in this collection of aphorisms, songs, 
poems, and fables have some artistic and literary as well 
as an edifiying character, and thus it has the greatest 
importance in the literary history of India. Here also 
greater relative stress is laid on ethics, and the more 
profound doctrine occupies less space. The Mangala 
Sutta, for example, mentions the honouring of parents 
and the cherishing of wife and children as amongst the 
most auspicious actions. It is, however, the Dhammapada 
in which the ethical aphorisms are chiefly assembled. 
This book is better known in Europe than any other 
Buddhist scripture, and has been often translated. It 
is, indeed, worthy of the notice it has attracted, and of 
the eulogy of Oldenberg : 

" For the elucidation of Buddhism nothing better could 
happen than that, at the very outset of Buddhist studies, 
there should be presented to the student by an auspicious 
hand the Dhammapada, that most beautiful and richest 
collection of proverbs, to which anyone who is determined 
to know Buddhism must over and over again return." 
This proverbial wisdom gives a true picture of Buddhist 
thought and feeling, but expressed in terms of emotion 
and poetry which lend to the themes of transcience and to 
the formulae of the psychologist a tragic poignancy that 
is often lacking in the set dialogues. 

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Buddha §P the Gospel of Buddhism 

" How can ye be merry, how can ye indulge desire ? 

Evermore the flames burn. Darkness surrounds you : will 

ye not seek the light ? 

" Man gathers flowers ; his heart is set on pleasure. 

Death comes upon him, like the floods of water on a 

village, and sweeps him away. 

" Man gathers flowers ; his heart is set on pleasure. The 

Destroyer brings the man of insatiable desire within his 

clutch. 

" Neither in the region of the air, nor in the depths of the 

sea, nor if thou piercest into the clefts of the mountains, 

wilt thou find any place on this earth where the hand of 

death will not reach thee. 

" From merriment cometh sorrow : from merriment cometh 

fear. Whosoever is free from merriment, for him there is 

no sorrow : whence should fear reach him ? 

" From love cometh sorrow 1 : from love cometh fear : 

whosoever is free from love for him there is no sorrow : 

whence should fear reach him ? 

" Whoso looketh down upon the world, as though he 

gazed on a mere bubble or a dream, him the ruler Death 

beholdeth not. 

" Whosoever hath traversed the evil, trackless path of the 

Samsara, who hath pushed on to the end, hath reached 

the shore, rich in meditation, free from desire, free from 

hesitancy, who, freed from being, hath found rest, him 

I call a true Brahman." 

1 This truth, which has so deeply penetrated Indian thought, is balanced 
by a recognition of the impossibility that the majority of men should 
for fear of sorrow refrain from love, and expressed with tragic beauty 
in a well-known Indian refrain, which may be translated — 

Beloved, had I known that love brings pain, 
I must have proclaimed, with beat of drum, that none should love. 
280 



The Pali Canon 

The thought of transcience constantly overshadows every 

other : 

"Those bleached bones, which are thrown out yonder, 

like gourds in the autumn, seeing those, how may any 

man be merry ? 

" Esteeming this body like a bubble, regarding it as a 

mirage, breaking the tempter's flower-shafts, press on to 

the bourne where the monarch Death shall never see thee 

more." 

Those who have thus attained exclaim : 

" In perfect joy we live, without enemy in this world of 
enmity ; among men filled with enmity we dwell without 
enmity. 

" In perfect joy we live, hale among the sick ; among 
sick men we dwell without sickness." 
We read also : 

" All men tremble at punishment, all men love life ; 
remember that thou art like unto them, and do not slay 
nor cause to slay. 

"Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. 
He who has given up both victory and defeat, he the 
contented, is happy. 

" ' He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed 
me,' in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred 
will cease. 

"For hatred does not cease by hatred at anytime : hatred 
ceases by love, this is an old rule." 

It should be noticed that the Dhammapada is an antho- 
logy, rather than a single work ; many of the sayings can 
be closely paralleled in other Indian books such as the 
Mahabharata or Httopadesa, and not more than half can 
be regarded as distinctively Buddhist. 
The Udana and the Itivuttaka consist of prose and 

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Buddha &f the Gospel of Buddhism 

verse, and contain a collection of sayings of the Buddha. 
The simple ethical aspect of the Dhamma, for example, 
is given as follows : 

" To speak no ill, to injure not, 

To be restrained according to the precepts, 

To be temperate in food, 

To sleep alone, 

To dwell on lofty thoughts, 

This is the Law of the Buddha." 
The Sutta-nipata is a collection of five Suttas wholly in 
verse. The Vasettha Sutta, for example, returns to the 
old question of what constitutes a Brahman, whether 
birth or character. In connexion with this discussion, 
there is a remarkable passage affirming the unity of the 
human species, a view in accord with most (though not 
all) of modern authorities. The passage runs, after 
mentioning the marks of distinction between quadrupeds, 
serpents, birds, etc. : 

" As in these species the marks that constitute species are 
abundant, so in men the marks that constitute species are 
not abundant. 

" Not as regards their hair, head, ears, eyes, mouth, nose, 
lips or brows, . . . nor as regards their hands, feet, palms, 
nails, calves, thighs, colour, or voice are there marks that 
constitute species as in other species. 
" Difference there is in beings endowed with bodies, but 
amongst men this is not the case ; the difference amongst 
men is only nominal." 
And, therefore — 

" Not by birth is one a Brahman, nor is one by birth no 
Brahman . . . but by effort, by religious living, by self- 
restraint and by temperance, by this one is a Brahman." 
Amongst all works of the Khuddaka Nikaya, however, the 
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The Pali Canon 

" Psalms of the Brethren and Sisters " {Thera-theri-gatha) 
stand foremost in literary and human interest. In skilful 
craftsmanship and beauty these songs are worthy to be set 
beside the hymns of the Rig Veda, and the lyrical poems 
of Kalidasa and Jayadeva. Each of the songs is ascribed 
by name to some member of the Sangha who attained to 
Arahatta in the lifetime of Gautama, and the later com- 
mentary often adds a few words by way of a biography of 
the author. But we cannot place very much reliance on 
the names, although their citation does not mislead us in 
presupposing a great variety of authors in this collec- 
tion. It is interesting to note that analysis reveals certain 
psychological differentiation as between the songs of the 
Brethren and those of the Sisters : in the latter there is a 
more personal note, and more of anecdote ; in the former 
more of the inner life, and more descriptions of natural 
beauty. The burden of all the songs is the calm delight, 
the peace beyond words to which they have attained, who 
have left the world and are free from desires and from 
resentment ; each Psalm, as it were, is a little song of 
triumph — like the Buddha's song of the builder of the 
house, which is here ascribed to the Arahat Sivaka — 
pertinent to the individual experience of the one that 
speaks. 

These songs are a personal expression of all those ideals 
and aims which are spoken of in the more ' profound ' 
texts. On the part of the Brethren, very often the theme 
is one of extreme misogyny : the true hero is he who bars 
his heart from 'all that emanates from woman.' More 
than one picture of a woman's corpse in the charnel field 
is presented with unpleasant detail ; and there at least a 
woman becomes of some use, for her decaying body 
teaches the lesson of disgust; nowhere else, can she be 

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Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

aught but a fetter and a hindrance to those who would 
set themselves to righteous duties. It would perhaps be 
unfair to contrast this point of view with the Brahmanical 
ideal of marriage as undertaken by man and woman pre- 
cisely for the joint performance of social and religious 
duties ; for we are here concerned with monasticism, and 
Brahmanical ascetic literature can provide its own mis- 
ogynistic texts to compare with those of Buddhism. The 
following may serve as an example of the Thera's songs : * 
Of Candana it is said that when a child was born to him, 
he left his home for the Order, and dwelt in the forest. 
One day, hearing that he was engaged in meditation in 
the charnel field, his wife endeavoured to win him back 
to the household life. It was in vain ; and this was the 
Arahat's ' witness ' : 

In golden gear bedecked, a troop of maids 
Attending in her train, bearing the babe 
Upon her hip, my wife drew near to me. 
I marked her coming, mother of my child, 
In brave array, like snare of Mara laid. 
Thereat arose in me the deeper thought : 
Attention to the fact and to the cause. 
The misery of it all was manifest ; 
Distaste, indifference^ the mind possessed ; 
And so my heart was set at liberty. 
O see the seemly order of the Norm I 
The Threefold Wisdom have I made my own, 
And all the Buddha bids me do is done. 

1 The translations are quoted from the admirable versions of Mrs Rhys 
Davids {Psalms of the Brethren, 1913). The much more interesting 
Nature poems of the Brethren are quoted above, p. 166 seq. 
284 



The Pali Canon 

The following is an extract from the " Psalm of 
Revata": 

Since I went forth from home to homeless life, 
Neer have I harboured conscious wish or plan 
Un-Ariyan or linked with enmity. . . . 
With thought of death I dally not y nor yet 
Delight in living. I await the hour 
Like any hireling zvho hath done his task. 
With thought of death I dally not, nor yet 
Delight in living. I await the hour 
With mind discerning and with heedfulness. 
The Master hath my fealty and love, 
And all the Buddha s bidding hath been done. 
Low have I laid the heavy load I bore, 
Cause for rebirth is found in me no more. 
The Good for which I bade the world farewell^ 
And left the home to lead the homeless life, 
That highest Good have I accomplished. 
And every bond and fetter is destroyed. 

Far more poetic than the verses inspired by the Brethrens' 
fear of woman as the subtlest form of worldly snare, are 
those of the Sisters themselves, reflecting on the passing 
away of their own youth and beauty, and pointing for 
themselves the lesson of transcience ; and amongst these 
none is more interesting than that of the courtesan 
Ambapali, whose generosity to the Order we have 
already noticed; she was converted by the preaching 
of her own son, and studying the law of impermanence 
as illustrated in her own ageing body, she uttered 
the following verses (nineteen in all, of which I quote 
five): 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Glossy and black as the down of the bee my curls once 

clustered. 
They with the waste of the years are liker to hempen or 

bark cloth. 
Such and not otherwise runneth the rune, the word of the 

Soothsayer. 

Dense as a grove well planted, and comely with comb, pin 

and parting. 
All with the waste of the years dishevelled the fair plaits 

and fallen 
Such and not otherwise runneth the rune, the word of the 

Soothsayer. 

Lovely the lines of my ears as the delicate work of the 

goldsmith. 
They with the waste of years are seamed with wrinkles 

and pendent. 
Such and not otherwise runneth the rune, the word of the 

Soothsayer. 

Full and lovely in contour rose of yore the small breasts 

of me. 
They with the waste of the years droop shrunken as skins 

without water. 
So and not otherwise runneth the rune, the word of the 

Soothsayer. 

Such hath this body been. Now age-weary and weak and 

unsightly, 
Home of manifold ills ; old house whence the mortar is 

dropping. 
So and not otherwise runneth the rune, the word of the 

Soothsayer. 
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The Pali Canon 

" And inasmuch as the Then, by the visible signs of im- 
permanence in her own person, discerned impermanence 
in all phenomena of the three planes, and bearing that in 
mind, brought into relief the signs of 111 (dukkha) and of 
No-soul (anatta), she, making clear her insight in her Path- 
progress, attained Arahantship." * 

The words of Sundarl-Nanda, another of the Sisters, 
resume the same train of thought : 

Now for the body care I never more, and all my conscious- 
ness is passion-free. 

Keen with unfettered zeal, detached, calm and serene I 
taste Nibbdnds peace. 

Another composite work, and one of the greatest signifi- 
cance for literary and social history, is the book of Jatakas, 
or histories of the previous births of Gautama. Originally 
consisting only of verses, to which the reciter must have 
added a verbal explanation, they are now preserved in the 
form of the Pali Jatakavannana, where the verses are 
enshrined in a formal framework of which the chief parts 
are the introductory episode and the concluding identifica- 
tion of the characters ; within these is the story proper, 
consisting of prose and verse. Each of these four 
elements, as Professor Rhys Davids points out, has had a 
separate history ; the old Jataka book contained the verses 
only; the necessary oral commentary which accompanied 
the quotation of the verses was subsequently written down 
and forms the prose story, which is summed up, as it 
were, and clinched by the old verses, and finally the 

1 Mrs Rhys Davids comments : " It is interesting to find these two 
ancient institutions, the hetairaofthe community and the Wise Woman, 
with her monopoly of seeing things as they have been, are, or will be, 
combined in one and the same poem." 

287 



Buddha ^P the Gospel of Buddhism 

scholastic framework was completed. The Jatakas in this 
final form were not completed before the fifth century a.d. 
However, the stories so preserved, we have every reason 
to believe, closely follow an old tradition handed down 
from at least the third century B.C. ; for a considerable 
number of these stories are illustrated in the well-known 
Bharhut sculptures, and are there labelled with their 
names, and in one case a half verse is also quoted. We 
learn from these sculptures that folk-tales and secular 
fables were adapted to an edifying purpose quite early in 
the history of Buddhism precisely as popular and secular 
art is adapted to Buddhist purposes in the sculpture them- 
selves. 

Beside this, we have to observe that although the stories 
are now converted to the purposes of Buddhist edification, 
they belong rather to Indian than to specifically Buddhist 
literature, and very few have a purely Buddhist origin. 
In point of fact the rule of the Order forbids the Brethren 
to listen to stories of kings and queens, wars, women, gods 
and fairies, and so forth, and some little time must have 
elapsed before the Buddhists could have come to believe 
that the Jatakas were really related by the Buddha himself. 
Then again, in the very fact of the stress that is laid upon 
the doctrine of the Bodhisattva, and in the emphasis laid 
upon the old ' resolve ' of the Brahman Sumedha (in the 
Jataka), as well as in the introductory and other references 
to the twenty-four ' previous Buddhas,' the Jataka book 
shows a considerable development of Buddhist scholas- 
ticism and theology, and might very well be described as 
a Mahayanist scripture, notwithstanding it is included in 
the Pali canon. Many of the stories are older than 
Buddhism, and notwithstanding that in their Buddhist 
garb they do not date from the time of Gautama, they 
288 



The Pali Canon 

give us a true picture of old Indian life of about the fifth 
century b.c. Apart from their literary value, this fact 
alone makes the Jataka collection of great interest ; beside 
which, this is the " most reliable, the most complete, and 
the most ancient collection of folk-lore now extant in any 
literature in the world." 

The Jatakas vary greatly both in subject and in literary 
merit, and also in length ; some are dry and witless, others 
point a merely common-sense moral, others elaborate 
the systematic doctrine of the previous Buddhas and the 
character of the Bodhisattva as exemplifying the ten great 
virtues {Paramitas), while yet others are works of the 
finest art, setting forth with poignant intensity the drama 
of human emotion : some are fragments of epics, with the 
flavour of aristocracy, others are the work of unimagina- 
tive misogynists, others are popular ballads, and many 
are little more than nursery tales. All this is easily 
explained by the composite authorship of the collection, 
and the variety of class and occupation of those from 
whom the Order of the Buddhist Wanderers was 
recruited. 

Amongst the simplest stories there are many fables of 
world-wide distribution, like the story of the ass in the 
lion's skin, stories of grateful beasts and thankless men; 
here also are tales of demons and fairies, cannibal kings 
and masters of magic, to delight the hearts of any child or 
childlike people. On the other hand are the formal epics, 
amongst which is the recension of some old Rama ballad, 
such as constituted the basis of the Ramayana. But 
here we shall quote only one Jataka at some length, the 
Chaddanta Jataka, which is perhaps the most beautiful, 
and add also a short summary of another which is a great 
favourite, the Vessantara Jataka, which sets forth the 

t 289 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

' supernatural generosity ' of the Bodhisattva in his last 
incarnation before the attainment of Buddhahood. 

Chaddanta Jataka 

Introductory episode: A well-born girl of Savatthi, 
recognizing the misery of the worldly life, had adopted 
the homeless state, and was one day seated with others 
of the Sisters, hearing the Master's teaching; and the 
thought came into heart, * Was I in some former life 
an attendant of his wives?' Then she remembered that 
in the time of the elephant Chaddanta, she herself had been 
his wife, and her heart was filled with joy. But * Was I 
well or ill-disposed to him ? ' she thought, ' for the greater 
part of women are ill-disposed to their lords.' Then 
she remembered that she had borne a grudge against 
Chaddanta, and had sent a hunter with a poisoned arrow 
to take his tusks. Then her grief awoke, and her heart 
burned, and she burst into sobs and wept aloud. On 
seeing that, the Master smiled, and being asked by the 
company of the Brethren, 'What, Sir, was the cause of 
your smiling,' he said, * Brethren, this young Sister wept 
for an injury she did me long ago.' And so saying he told 
a story of the past. 

Once on a time the Bodhisatta was born as the son 
of the chief of a herd of elephants in the Himalayas. 
He was pure white, with red feet and face; when he 
grew up he became the chief of a great herd, and he 
worshipped private Buddhas. His two chief queens were 
Cullasubhadda and Mahasubhadda. One year it was 
reported, ' The great sal-grove is in flower ' ; and with 
all his herd he went to take his pleasure there. As he 
went along he struck a sal tree with his forehead, and 
because Cullasubhadda was standing to windward, twigs 
290 



Chaddanta Jataka 

and dry leaves and red ants fell on her, while Maha- 
subhadda stood to leeward, so that flowers and pollen and 
green leaves fell on her. Cullasubhadda thought, " He 
let the flowers and pollen fall on his favourite wife, and 
the twigs and red ants on me,' and she bore him a grudge. 
Upon another occasion, when a lotus with seven shoots 
had been offered to him, he presented it to Mahasub- 
hadda. 

Then Cullasubhadda was still more estranged, and she 
went to a shrine of private Buddhas and made offerings 
of wild fruits, and prayed : * Hereafter, when I pass 
away, I would be reborn as the daughter of a king, 
that I may become the queen of the King of Benares. 
Then shall I be dear to him, and may work my will, 
and I will have him to send a hunter with a poisoned 
arrow to kill this elephant and bring me his sixfold tusks.' 
And in time to come she becomes the chief queen of the 
King of Benares. She remembers her former life, and 
thinks : * My prayer has been fulfilled.' She feigns sickness, 
and persuades the king to grant her a boon, which alone 
will restore her health and spirits ; what the boon is she 
will tell when all the king's huntsmen are assembled. It 
is that some one of them should bring her the tusks of 
Chaddanta. She opens a window and points to the 
Himalayas in the North and says : 

There dwells invincible in mighty 
This elephant, six-tusked and white, 
Lord of a herd eight thousand strong 
Whose tusks are like to chariot poles, 
And wind-swift they to guard or strike ! 
If they should see a child of man 
Their anger should destroy him utterly, 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

and she beheld in her heart the very spot where he was 
taking his pleasure, how 

Fresh from his bath and lotus-wreathed, 

He moves along the homeward track. 

Vast is his brake and lily white, 

And there before him walks a dear- loved queen. 

Of all the huntsmen, one by name Sonuttara, who was a 
hideous lout and big and strong, undertook the task, and 
being furnished with all needful implements, he set forth 
on his way. It needed seven years of weary going to 
reach Chaddanta's haunts ; but no sooner come there, 
than Sonuttara dug a pit and covered it with logs and 
grass, and donning the yellow robes of a man of religion, 
and taking his bow and poisoned arrow, he hid himself 
and lay in wait. Presently Chaddanta passed by, and 
Sonuttara wounded him with the poisoned arrow. But 
the elephant subduing his feelings of resentment, asked 
the hunter, ' Why have you wounded me ? is it for your 
own ends or to satisfy the will of another? ' The hunter 
answered that Subhadda, the consort of the King of 
Benares, had sent him to secure the tusks. Chaddanta 
reflected, ' It is not that she wishes for the tusks, but she 
desires my death ; ' and he said : 

Come now, thou hunter, and before I die 
Saw through my ivory tusks ; 

And bid the jealous queen rejoice 

'Here are the htsks, the elephant is dead.' 

So Chaddanta bowed his head, and Sonuttara began to 
saw the tusks ; and when he could not cut them, the 
great elephant took the saw in his trunk and moved it to 
and fro till the tusks were severed. Then he gave up 
292 



Chaddanta Jataka 

the tusks and said, ' I do not give you these tusks, my 
friend, because I think them of little value, nor to win the 
status of a god, but because the tusks of omniscience are 
a thousand times dearer to me than these ; and may this 
worthy gift be the cause of my attaining Omniscience.' 
Then the hunter departed with the tusks ; and before the 
other elephants reached Chaddanta he had died. 
The hunter came then before the queen and said : 

Here are his tusks, the beast is dead. 

1 Do you tell me that he is dead ? ' she cried ; and he 
answered, ' Rest assured that he is dead, here are the 
tusks.' Then she received the six-rayed tusks, and laying 
them across her lap, and thinking, 'These are the tusks 
of him who was once my lord,' she was filled with sorrow 
so great that she could not bear it, but there and then her 
heart broke and she died the same day. 
To make the story clear, the Master said : 

She whom you used to see, 
A Sister in the yellow robe, 
Was once a queen, and I 
The king of elephants, who died. 

Btit he that took the shining tusks 
Matchless on earth, of pure white, 
And brought them to Benares town, 
Has now the name of Devadatta. 

" This story of the past the Master told out of his own 
knowledge, but for all its sorrow, yet he himself was free 
from pain and grief. 

" And on hearing this discourse a multitude entered the 
First Path, and the Sister novice not long afterwards 
attained to Arahatta." 

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Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Summary of the Vessantara Jdtaka 
A son was born to Phusati, the Queen-consort of the 
King of Sivi ; he was named Vessantara, and the fortune- 
tellers predicted that he would be devoted to almsgiving, 
never satisfied with giving. He was married to his cousin 
Maddl, and they had a son and a daughter. Vessantara 
possessed also a magical white elephant, that brought 
rain wherever he went. At that time there was a drought 
and famine in Kalinga, and the men of that country, 
knowing of the elephant, and of Vessantara's generosity, 
sent an embassy of Brahmans to ask for the elephant, 
As the Prince was riding through the city on the elephant, 
to visit one of his alms-halls, the Brahmans met him by 
the way and craved a boon, nor would he refuse the 
elephant himself. He descended from his back, and 
bestowed him on the Brahmans, together with all his 
priceless jewels and hundreds of attendants. 

Then was a mighty terror felt, then bristling of 

the hair 
When the great elephant was given, the earth 

did quake for fear > 

and the people of the city reproached the Bodhisattva for 
his too great generosity. In order to avoid their anger, 
he was banished. Vessantara spent a day in bestowing 
gifts of elephants, horses, women, jewels, and food ; then 
he went forth into exile, accompanied by Maddl and both 
the children, setting out in a gorgeous carriage drawn by 
four horses. On the way he gives the horses and chariot 
in alms ; finally they reach a beautiful forest retreat, and 
there take up their abode in a hermitage. 
While there a Brahman visits Vessantara, and begs for 
294 



Other Books of the Canon 

the children to be his servants, and they are freely given ; 
they are subsequently brought by the same Brahman to 
the city from which Vessantara had been exiled, and they 
are there ransomed by his parents. Next, Sakka appears 
to Vessantara in the shape of another Brahman, and asks 
for his wife. 

The Bodhisattva bestows his wife upon the seeming 
Brahman, saying : 

Weary am I, nor hide I that : yet in my own despite, 

I give, and shrink not : for in gifts my heart doth take 

delight . . . 
Both Jdli and Kanhajina I let another take, 
And Maddi my devoted wife, and all for wisdoms sake. 
Not hateful is my faithful wife, nor yet my children are, 
But perfect knowledge, to my mind, is something dearer 

far. 

Sakka then reveals himself, and restores Maddi, and 
bestows ten boons ; as the result of which Vessantara 
and Maddi are brought back to their paternal city, 
restored to favour, and reunited with their children, and 
finally Vessantara receives the assurance that he shall be 
born only once again. 

Other Books of the Canon 

The Buddhavamsa is a somewhat jejune recital of the 
histories of the twenty-four previous Buddhas, and the 
life of Gautama, represented to have been related by 
himself. The last book of the Khuddaka Nikaya is the 
Cariyapitaka, a collection of thirty-five Jatakas. 
The third division of the Pali canon, the Abhidhamma 
Pitaka, need not be considered here at any length, for it 

295 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

differs from the Sutta literature already discussed only in 
being more dry, more involved, and more scholastic ; 
originality and depth are comparatively lacking, and our 
knowledge of Buddhist philosophy would be little less if 
the Abhidamma Pitaka were altogether ignored. 

Uncanonical Pali Literature 

If we proceed now to speak of the uncanonical Pali 
Buddhist literature, we meet in the first place the well- 
known book of the Questions of King Milinda, which 
might very well indeed have been included in the canon, 
and is so included in Siam. The most often quoted, and 
very characteristic passage of the Milinda Panha is the 
' chariot ' discourse on anatta : 

Nagasena enquires of the king: "Pray, did you come 
afoot, or riding?" and there ensues the following 
dialogue : 

" Bhante, I do not go afoot : I came in a chariot." 
"Your majesty, if you came in a chariot, declare to me 
the chariot. Pray, your majesty, is the pole the chariot? " 
" Nay verily, Bhante." 
" Is the axle the chariot?" 
" Nay verily, Bhante." 

And so for the heels, the body, the banner-staff, the yoke, 
the reins, and the goad: the king admits that none of 
these, nor altogether constitute a chariot, nor is there any 
other thing beside these which constitutes a chariot. 
Then Nagasena continues : 

" Your majesty, though I question you very closely, I fail 
to discover any chariot. Verily now, your majesty, the 
word chariot is a mere empty sound. What chariot is 
there here ? " 

And the king is convinced that the word ' chariot ' " is but a 
296 



Uncanonical Pali Literature 

way of counting, term, appellation, convenient designation, 
and name for pole, axle, wheels, chariot-body, and banner- 
staff. " Nagasena draws the parallel : 
" In exactly the same way, your majesty, (my name of) 
Nagasena is but a way of counting, term, appellation, con- 
venient designation, mere name" for the several parts of 
the mind and body collectively regarded, while "in the 
absolute sense no Ego is here to be found." 
The whole of the canonical Pali Buddhist literature, 
together with the Questions of Milinda> are of Indian 
origin, notwithstanding they are preserved only in the 
Pali texts of Ceylon and Burma and Siam. The re- 
mainder of the uncanonical Pali literature, on the other 
hand, is almost entirely the work of the Sinhalese 
Brethren, or of Indian authors like Buddhaghosha who 
took up their residence in Ceylon. This learned monk 
came from a Brahman family of Bodh Gaya, and being 
converted by the monk Revata to Buddhism, he came to 
Ceylon to study the Buddhist commentaries. There he 
resided at the Great Monastery at Anuradhapura, and as 
the first fruit of his studies composed the Visuddhi Magga 
or ' Way of Purity,' a lengthy compendium of Buddhist 
lore. For the most part Buddhaghosha adheres to the 
setting forth of the old Arahat ideal, as, for example, 
when he tells of a monk who is so far removed from the 
world that he takes his daily meals for three months at 
the house of his mother without once saying • I am thy 
son, thou art my mother'; notwithstanding she desired 
news of her lost son very greatly. So good a laywoman 
was she, however, that when another of the Brethren 
informed her that he had thus visited the house unknown, 
she speaks of her son's behaviour as altogether praise- 
worthy. For the most part there is no important con- 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

tribution to Buddhist doctrine, but on the other hand 
many legends and tales of wonder are preserved here and 
nowhere else ; there is considerable stress laid on miracles 
performed by the saints. Buddhaghosha also compiled 
a commentary on the whole of the canonical literature; 
though it is doubtful if the Jataka and Dhammapada 
commentaries are really his work. In any case, Buddha- 
ghosha is the Buddhist commentator, before all others ; 
his method is clear and penetrating, and the illustrative 
legends serve to lighten the more tedious summaries. 
Two Buddhist Pali works of very great importance, the 
Dipavamsa and Mahdvamsa, are verse chronicles of 
Ceylon history. Notwithstanding that no distinction is 
here made between saga, legend, and de facto history, a 
considerable part, and especially the later part of these 
works, has a great historical value. We find, for 
example, a striking confirmation of the general accuracy 
of the tradition, in the fact that the chronicles mention 
amongst the names of Asoka's missionaries those of 
Kassapa-gotta and Majjhima as having been sent with 
three others to the Himalayas, while archaeological 
exploration has unearthed from a stiipa near Sanchi a 
funeral urn bearing the inscription in script of the third 
century b.c. : ' Of the good man Kassapa-gotta, teacher of 
all the Himalaya region,' while the inside of the urn is 
inscribed ' Of the good man, Majjhima.' 
Indian practice, however, deals with history as art rather 
than science ; and perhaps the chief interest of the Ceylon 
chronicles appears in their epic character. The Dlpavamsa, 
probably of the fourth century a.d. — just before Buddha- 
ghosha — is composed in very poor Pali, and is altogether 
an inartistic production; it has only been preserved in 
Burma, while in Ceylon its place has been taken by the 
298 



Uncanonical Pali Literature 

much finer book of the Mahavamsa, composed byMahanama 
toward the end of the fifth century. 

"We are here able," says Professor Geiger, "in a way 
that elsewhere is not easy, to follow the development of 
the epic in its literary evolution. We are able to picture 
to ourselves the contents and form of the chronicle which 
forms the basis of the epic song, and of the various elements 
of which it is composed. . . . The Dlpavamsa represents 
the first unaided struggle to create an epic out of the 
already existing material. It is a document that fixes our 
attention just because of the imcompleteness of the com- 
position and its want of style. . . . The Mahavamsa is 
already worthy of the name of a true epic. It is the 
recognized work of a poet. And we are able to watch this 
poet in a certain measure at his work in his workshop. 
Although he is quite dependent on his materials, which he 
is bound to follow as closely as possible, he deals with 
them critically, perceives their shortcomings and irregu- 
larities, and seeks to improve and to eliminate." * 
The hero of this epic is Dutthagamani, a national hero 
king of the second century B.C., whose renown in Southern 
Buddhist annals is second only to that of Asoka himself. 
The king's victory over the Tamil leader is related as 
follows : 

" King Dutthagamani proclaimed with beat of drum : 
' None but myself shall slay Elara.' When he himself, 
armed, had mounted the armed elephant Kandula, he 
pursued Elara and came to the south gate (of Anurad- 
hapura). Near the south gate of the city the two kings 
fought: Elara hurled his dart, GamanI evaded it; he 
made his own elephant pierce (Elara' s) elephant with his 
tusks, and he hurled his dart at Elara; and the latter 
1 Geiger, Dlpavamsa und Mahavamsa (1905), introduction. 

299 



Buddha &P the Gospel of Buddhism 

fell there with his elephant. . . . On the spot where his 
(Elara's) body had fallen he burned it with the catafalque, 
and there did he build a monument and ordain worship. 
And even to this day the princes of Lanka, when they draw 
near to this place, are wont to silence their music because 
of this worship." 

With true Buddhist feeling the king is represented to have 
felt no joy in his great victory and the slaughter of the 
invader's hosts : 

" Looking back upon his glorious victory, great though 
it was, he knew no joy, remembering that thereby was 
wrought the destruction of millions of beings." 
On this the chronicle comments : 

" Should a man think on the hosts of human beings mur- 
dered for greed in countless myriads, and should he care- 
fully keep in mind the (consequent) evil, and should he 
also very carefully keep in mind that mortality is the 
(real) murderer of all of them — then will he, in this way, 
speedily win to freedom from sorrow and to a happy 



state." 



One of his warriors took the robes of a monk, and the 
name of Theraputtabhaya, saying : 

" I will do battle with the rebel passions, where victory is 
hard to win ; what other war remains where all the realm 
is united?" 

The death-bed scenes are related with deep feeling : the 
king has his couch brought where he can gaze upon his 
two great buildings, the ' Brazen Palace ' monastery, and 
the Great Thupa, the latter not yet complete. He is 
surrounded by thousands of the Brethren, but looking 
about, he does not see Theraputtabhaya, his old com- 
panion-in-arms, and he thinks : 

"The Theraputtabhaya comes not now to aid me, now 
300 



The Sanskrit Texts 

that the death-struggle is begun, for methinks he foresees 
my defeat." But Theraputtabhaya appears, and the king 
is gladdened by his words : 

" O great king and ruler of men, fear not. Save sin be 
conquered, death is unconquerable. All that has come to 
be must also pass away, and all that is is perishable ; thus 
the Master taught. Even the Buddhas, never touched by 
shame or fear, are subject to mortality : therefore bethink 
thee, all that is is perishable, full of sorrow, and unreal. 
. . . O thou that art rich in merit, think upon all those 
works of merit done by thee up to this very day, and 
straightway shall all be well with thee ! " 
The book of meritorious deeds is accordingly read aloud 
and we are given the long list of the king's good works : 
amongst others, he has maintained eighteen hospitals for 
the sick. 

" But all this giving while that I reigned, rejoices not my 
heart ; only the two gifts that I gave, without care for my 
life, the while I was in adversity, these gladden my heart. 
. . . Twenty-four years have I been a patron of the 
Brethren, and my body shall also be a patron of the 
Brethren. In a place where the great Thupa may be seen 
... do ye burn the body of me, the servant of the 
Brethren." 

Continuators of the Mahdvamsa have brought the 
chronicles up to modern times, the whole work consti- 
tuting a remarkable history of Buddhist culture in 
Ceylon. 

The Sanskrit Texts 

The remaining books of Pali Buddhist literature we shall 

not discuss, but turn to consider the Sanskrit books of the 

Mahayana. 

301 



Buddha ^f the Gospel of Buddhism 

A considerable part of these corresponds to the books of 
the Pali canon already described ; but they are not trans- 
lations from Pali, but rather parallel texts derived from 
the same Indian sources, the lost Magadhi canon on which 
the Pali books are based. On this account, although few 
of the Mahayana texts can be shown to be older in recen- 
sion than the third or fourth century a.d., we can under- 
stand that they embody older materials, together with the 
new additions. 

The Mahdvastu, indeed ('The Book of Great Events'), 
is still nominally a Hlnayana work, though it belongs to 
the heretical sect of the Lokottaravadins who regard the 
Buddha as a supernatural being; the biography is a 
history of miracles. It is a compilation without any 
attempt at system. It contains also much that is 
properly Mahayanist, such as an enumeration of the 
Ten Stations of a Bodhisattva, Hymns to Buddha, the 
doctrine that worship of Buddha suffices to achieve 
Nirvana, and so forth ; but there is no characteristically 
Mahayana mythology. 

A more famous and a more important work is the 
Lalitavistara, ' The History of the Play (of the Buddha) ' 
— a title suggestive of the Hindu conception of Lila or 
Play, the 'Wonderful Works of the Lord.' This is a 
Buddha biography with elaborate mythology, and stress 
is laid on faith as an essential element of religion. 
The general trend of the Lalitavistara is well known 
to Western readers, for it has formed the basis of 
Sir Edwin Arnold's beautiful poem, The Light of 
Asia. Its contents have also been closely followed 
in the famous sculptures of Borobodur ; and from the 
subject matter of Gandhara art we can infer with 
certainty that the Lalitavistara or some very similar 
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Asvaghosha 

text must have already been known in the first and 
second century a.d. In itself, however, the work is not 
yet a true Buddha-epic, but contains the germ of an 
epic. 

A svaghosha 

It is from such ballads and anecdotes as are preserved 
in the Lalitavistara that Asvaghosha, the greatest 
Buddhist poet, has composed his masterly Bttddka-carita, 
the * Course of the Buddha.' Asvaghosha is indeed 
not merely a Buddhist poet, but one of the greatest of 
Sanskrit poets, and the chief forerunner of Kalidasa. 
We have no certain knowledge of his date, but it is most 
probable that he flourished during the first century a.d., 
and in any case he must be regarded as a Father of the 
Mahayana. He must have been brought up as a Brahman 
before becoming a Buddhist. The Tibetan biography 
informs us that " there was no problem he could not 
solve, no argument he could not refute ; he overcame his 
adversary as easily as the storm wind breaks a rotten 
tree." The same authority tells us that he was a great 
musician, who himself composed and went about the 
villages with a troupe of singers and songstresses. The 
songs he sang spoke of the emptiness of phenomena, and 
the crowds who heard his beautiful music stood and 
listened in rapt silence. The Chinese pilgrim I-tsing, 
who visited India in the seventh century, speaks of his 
literary style as follows : 

" He is read far and wide throughout the five Indies and 
the lands of the southern seas. He clothes in but a few 
words many and many thoughts and ideas, which so 
rejoice the reader's heart that he never wearies of reading 
the poem. Very profitable also it is to read this poem, 

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Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

for here the noble doctrines are set forth with convenient 
brevity." 

The work as we have it is but a fragment, completed by 
other hands ; yet it is a true Buddha-epic and the work of 
a true poet, who has created a work of art, informed with 
his own deep love of the Buddha and belief in the doctrine ; 
it is a court epic in the technical sense, in a style somewhat 
more elaborate than that of the Makdvamsa, but not yet 
at all immoderately artificial. The Buddha-carita is not 
only an important monument of specifically Buddhist 
literature, but exercised an unmistakable influence on 
the development of Brahmanical classic Sanskrit. 
When the divine child is born it is prophesied. 
" The child is now born who knows that mystery hard to 
attain, the means of destroying birth. Forsaking his 
kingdom, indifferent to all worldly objects, and attaining 
the highest truth by strenuous efforts, he will shine forth 
as a sun of knowledge to destroy the darkness of illusion 
in the world. . . . He will proclaim the way of deliverance 
to those afflicted with sorrow, entangled in objects of sense, 
and lost in the forest-paths of worldly existence, as to 
travellers who have lost their way. . . . He will break 
open for the escape of living beings that door whose bolt 
is desire, and whose two leaves are ignorance and delusion, 
with that excellent blow of the good Law that is so hard 
to find. . . . And since I have not heard his Law, but 
my time has come to depart" (says the prophet) "my 
life is only a failure, I count even dwelling in the highest 
heaven a misfortune." 

The young prince, as he grew up, was surrounded by 
every pleasure, whereby to hinder him from seeking the 
Wanderers' life; his father "arranged for his son all 
kinds of worldly enjoyments, praying 'Would that he 
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Asvaghosha 

may not be able to forsake us, even though he be hindered 
by mere unrest of the senses.'" 

The prince is tempted by beautiful women, skilled in the 
arts of seduction : 

" Come and listen to the notes of this intoxicated cuckoo 
as he sings, while another cuckoo sings as if consenting, 
wholly without care. Would that thine was the intoxi- 
cation of the birds which the spring produces, rather than 
the dreams of a man of thought, ever pondering how wise 
he is ! " 

So they sing, voicing the spring-songs of the folk, and 
the resentment of women against a man's abstraction; 
but the Bodhisattva remains unmoved, preoccupied with 
the thought that death is the ultimate fate of all. 
" 'What is it that these women lack,' he asks, 'that they 
perceive not that youth is fickle? for this old age will 
destroy whatever has beauty. . . . Evidently they know 
nothing of death which carries all away, they are joyous 
in a world which is all pain, and so at ease and without 
distress they can sport and laugh. What rational being, 
who knows of old age, death and sickness, could stand or 
sit at his ease, or sleep, far less laugh? ... If desire 
arises in the heart of the man, who knows that death 
is certain, I think that his soul must be made of iron, 
who restrains it in this great terror, and does not weep.' " 
The following is from Yasodhara's lament when it is 
discovered that Prince Siddhartha has become a Wanderer : 
" If he wishes to abandon his lawful wife as a widow, and 
to become a religious, then where is his religion, wishing 
to practise a rule without his lawful wife to share it ! It 
must be that he has never heard of the monarchs of old, 
his own forefathers, Mahasudarsa and others, how they 
went with their wives into the forest, since he thus wishes 

u 305 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

to adopt the religious life apart from me ! He does not see 
that husband and wife are alike consecrated by sacrifices, 
purified by the performance of Vedic rites, and destined 
to enjoy the same fruits hereafter. ... I have no such 
longing for the joys of heaven, nor are these hard for 
common folk to attain, if they be resolute ; but my one 
desire is that my darling may never leave me either in this 
world or the next." 

It is interesting to note the arguments adduced by the 
king's Brahman family priest, and by a trusted counsellor, 
who are sent to persuade the Bodhisattva to return, 
offering him the kingdom itself in his father's place. The 
former points out : 

"Religion is not wrought out only in the forests; the 
salvation of ascetics can be accomplished even in a city; 
thought and effort are the true means ; the forest and the 
badge are only a coward's signs." 

and he cites the case of Janaka and others ; at the same 
time he appeals to the prince to take pity on his unhappy 
parents. The counsellor, with more worldly wisdom, 
argues that if there be a future life, it will be time enough 
to consider it when we come to it, and if not, then there 
is liberation attained without any effort at all ; and more- 
over, the nature of the world cannot be altered, it is mi 
generis subject to mortality, and it therefore cannot be 
overcome by extinguishing desire : 

" ' Who causes the sharpness of the thorn ? ' he asks, * or 
the various natures of beasts and birds ? All this has 
arisen spontaneously ; there is no acting from desire, how 
then can there be such a thing as will ? ' " 
At the same time he reminds the prince of his social 
duties, his debt to the ancestors, to be repaid only by 
begetting children, by study, and by sacrifice to the Gods, 
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Asvaghosha 

and suggests that he should fulfil these social duties 
before retiring to the forest. To these subtle advisers 
the prince replies by offering the usual ' consolation ' to 
sorrowing parents : 

"Since parting is inevitably fixed in the course of time 
for all beings, just as for travellers who have joined 
company on a road, what wise man would cherish sorrow, 
when he loses his kindred, even though he loves them ? " 
He adds that his departure to the forest cannot be 
considered 'ill-timed,' for liberation can never be ill- 
timed. That the king should wish to surrender to him 
the kingdom, he says, is a noble thought, but 
" How can it be right for the wise man to enter royalty, 
the home of illusion, where are found anxiety, passion, 
and weariness, and the violation of all right through 
another's service (exploitation) ? " 
To the metaphysical objections he replies : 
"This doubt whether anything exists or not, is not to be 
solved for me by another's words ; having determined the 
truth by discipline or by Yoga, I will grasp for myself 
whatever is known of it . . . what wise man would go 
by another's belief? Mankind are like the blind directed 
in the darkness by the blind. . . . Even the sun, therefore, 
may fall to the earth, even the mount Himalaya may lose 
its firmness; but I will never return to my home as a 
worldling, lacking the knowledge of the truth, and with 
sense only alert for external objects : I would enter the 
blazing fire, but not my house with my purpose unful- 
filled." 

In such a fashion Asvaghosha represents those stations in 
the life of every Saviour, which are familiar to Christians 
in the reply of Christ to his parents : Wist ye not that 
I must be about my Father's business? and in his refusal of 

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an earthly kingdom and the status of a Dharmaraja, when 
these are laid before him by the Devil. 
The passages so far quoted are primarily edifying : and 
notwithstanding the skill with which Buddhist thought is 
there expressed, there are others that will better exemplify 
Asvaghosha's epic diction and personal intensity of imagi- 
nation. Of the two following extracts, the first describes an 
early meditation of the Bodhisattva, beneath a rose-apple 
tree ; and the second, the gift of food which he accepts, when 
after five years of mortification of the flesh, he finds that 
mortification of the flesh will not lead him to his goal, 
and reverts to that first process of insight which came to 
him as he sat beneath the rose-apple. Here Asvaghosha 
proves himself a true poet ; he has a saga-teller's power of 
calling up a vivid picture in a few words, he understands 
the heavy toil of the peasant and of the beasts of burden, 
and he represents the pure dignity of unsophisticated 
girlhood, in the person of the herdsman's daughter, with 
the same simplicity that Homer uses when he speaks of 
Nausicaa. 

The prince went forth one day with a party of his friends, 
" with a desire to see the glades of the forest, and longing 
for peace : " 

" Lured by love of the woods and longing for the beauties 
of the earth, he repaired to a place near at hand on the 
outskirts of a forest; and there he saw a piece of land 
being ploughed, with the path of the plough broken like 
waves on the water. . . . And regarding the men as they 
ploughed, their faces soiled by the dust, scorched by the 
sun and chafed by the wind, and their cattle bewildered 
by the burden of drawing, the all-noble one felt the utter- 
most compassion; and alighting from the back of his 
horse, he passed slowly over the earth, overcome with 
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Asvaghosha 

sorrow — pondering the birth and the destruction pro- 
ceeding in the world, he grieved, and he exclaimed, ' This 
is pitiful indeed ! ' Then because he would be lonely in 
his thoughts, he hindered those friends who were follow- 
ing him, and went to the root of a rose-apple tree in a 
solitary place, of which the leaves were all a-tremble. 
There he sat upon the leafy ground, and the emerald 
grass; and meditating on the origin and destruction of 
the world, he laid hold upon the path that leads to 
constancy of mind." 

Long years after, having vainly mortified the flesh, the 
Bodhisattva reflected : 

" This is not the road that leads to passionlessness, or to 
liberation ; that was verily the true path which I found be- 
neath the rose-apple tree. But that is not to be achieved by 
one who has lost his strength . . . and making up his mind, 
'This means involves the taking of food.' . . . Then, at 
that very time, Nandabala, the daughter of the chief of the 
herdsmen, impelled by the gods {i.e. following a spon- 
taneous and inexplicable impulse) and with a sudden joy 
uprising in her heart, came nigh ; her arm was decked 
with a white shell bracelet, and she wore a dark blue 
woollen cloth, like the river Jamuna, with its dark blue 
water and its wreath of foam ; and with joy increased by 
faith, and widely opened lotus-eyes, she bowed before the 
seer, and persuaded him to take some milk." 
Asvaghosha's other works include the Saundarananda 
Kavya, which also deals with the life of Buddha, and ex- 
hibits some Mahayana tendencies which are not apparent 
in the Buddha-carita. The Sutralamkara is a collection of 
pious legends in prose and verse, in the manner of the 
Jatakas and Avadanas. An Alamkara sastra is also 
ascribed to him. More doubtful is the authorship of the 

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Vajrasuci, or Diamond-needle, a polemic against the 
Brahmanical caste system, supported mainly by citations 
from Brahmanical sources, such as the Vedas, the Maha- 
bharata, and the Laws of Manu. Finally there remains to 
be named the very important Mahay ana-sraddha-utpada, 
or * Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana,' a philosophical 
and mystical work dealing with the doctrines of the 
Tathagata-garbha and Alaya-vijnana after the manner of 
the Yogavaracaras and Asanga ; but there are good reasons 
to think that this text may be of considerably later date ; 
it was first translated into Chinese only in the sixth century, 
and is not known in the Sanskrit original. 

Aryasura 

A poet of Asvaghosha's school is Aryasura, the author of a 
famous Jatakamala or ' Garland of Jatakas,' to be assigned, 
most probably, to the fourth century a.d. Jatakamalas of 
this type are selections of the old stories retold as homilies 
in artistic prose and verse, for the use of monkish teachers 
trained in the tradition of Sanskrit court prose and poetry. 
Of Aryasura's work it has been well said : 
" It is perhaps the most perfect writing of its kind. It is 
distinguished no less by the superiority of its style than 
by the loftiness of its thoughts. Its verses and artful 
prose are written in the purest Sanskrit, and charm the 
reader by the elegance of their form and the skill displayed 
in the handling of a great variety of metres. . . . Above 
all, I admire his moderation. Unlike so many other 
Indian masters in the art of literary composition, he does 
not allow himself the use of embellishing apparel and the 
whole luxuriant mise en scene of Sanskrit alamkara beyond 
what is necessary for his subject " (Speyer). 
I-tsing praises the Jatakamala as among the works specially 
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Aryasura 

admired in his time. But more important is the fact that 
it is these versions of the Jatakas which are illustrated in 
the wall-paintings of Ajanta, and indeed, in some cases the 
pictures are inscribed with verse from Aryasura's work; 
the painting and the literary work are in close harmony of 
sentiment. 

The first story relates the Bodhisattva's gift of his own 
body for the nourishment of a hungry tigress, that 
she might not eat her own young, and it begins as 
follows : 

" Even in former births the Lord showed his innate, disin- 
terested, and immense love toward all creatures, and 
identified himself with all beings. For this reason we 
ought to have the utmost faith in Buddha, the Lord. 
This will be shown in the following great deed of the Lord 
in a former birth. " Following each story is an injunction 
pointing out the moral. Many of the stories inculcate 
the duty of gentleness and mercy, by means of the relation 
of some anecdote regarding some helpful animal and an 
ungrateful man. The Ruru-deer, for example : 
" ' With his large blue eyes of incomparable mildness and 
brightness, with his horns and hoofs endowed with a 
gentle radiance, as if they were made of precious stones, 
that ruru-deer of surpassing beauty seemed a moving 
treasury of gems. Then, knowing his body to be a very 
desirable thing, and aware of the pitiless hearts of men, 
he would frequent such forest ways as were free from 
human company, and because of his keen intelligence he 
was careful to avoid such places as were made unsafe by 
devices of huntsmen ... he warned also the animals 
who followed after him to avoid them. He exercised his 
rule over them like a teacher, like a father.' " 
One day, however, he heard the cries of a drowning man, 

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Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

and entering the stream he saved his life and brought him 
to the shore. At the same time the ruru-deer prayed the 
man to say nothing of his adventure, for he feared the 
cruelty of men. The queen of that country, however, 
happened at that time to dream of just such a deer; 
and the king offered a reward for the capture of such a 
creature. The man whose life had been saved, being 
poor, was tempted by the offer of a fertile village and 
ten beautiful women, and revealed to the king the secret 
of the beautiful deer. The king is about to let fly his 
arrow, when the deer asks him to stay his hand, and to 
tell who has revealed the secret of his forest home. 
When the wretched man is pointed out, the deer exclaims : 
6 Fie upon him ! It is verily a true word, that * better it 
is to take a log from the water than to save an ungrateful 
man from drowning.' Thus it is that he requites the 
exertions undertaken on his behalf ! " 
The king inquires why the deer speaks so bitterly, and 
the Bodhisattva (for such, of course, is the deer) replies : 
"No desire to pass censure moved me to these words, O 
king, but knowing his blameworthy deed, I spoke sharp 
words to hinder him from doing such a deed again. For 
who would willingly use harsh speech to those who have 
done a sinful deed, strewing salt, as it were, upon the 
wound of their fault ? But even to his beloved son a 
physician must apply such medicine as his sickness 
requires. He who has put me in this danger, O best of 
men, it is whom I rescued from the current, being moved 
by pity. Verily, intercourse with evil company does not 
lead to happiness." 

Then the king would have slain the man ; but the Bodhi- 
sattva pleads for his life, and that he may receive the 
promised reward. Then the Bodhisattva preaches the 
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Aryasura 

doctrine to the king and his wives and the officers of the 
court as follows : 

"Of the Law with the manifold duties dependent on it 
and its divisions : to abstain from injuring others, from 
theft, and the like, of this, I hold the shortest summary is 
'Mercy toward every creature.' For consider, thou 
illustrious prince : If mercy to every creature should lead 
men to look on these as like to themselves or to the 
members of their own family, whose heart would ever 
cherish the baleful wish for wickedness? . . . For this 
reason the wise firmly believe that in Mercy the whole 
of Righteousness is comprised. What virtue, indeed, 
cherished by the pious is not the consequence of Mercy? 
Having this in mind, be intent ever to fortify thy mercy 
to all people, holding them as like thy son or like thyself; 
and winning by thy pious deeds thy people's hearts, mayst 
thou glorify thy royalty ! " 

" Then the king praised the words of the ruru-deer, and 
with his landholders and burghers he became intent on 
following the Law of Righteousness. And he granted 
security to all fourfooted creatures and to birds. . . . 
("This story is also to be told when discoursing on 
compassion, and may be adduced when treating of the 
high-mindedness of the virtuous, and also when censuring 
the mischievous.") 

Many of the Buddhist stories are thus in perfect accord 
with the words of the Western poet who says : 

He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and sma//, 

and indeed, the Ancient Mariner is just such a tale as the 
Buddhist Brethren of literary tastes would have made 
into a Jataka. 

3*3 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Scarcely distinguishable from the Jatakas are the various 
Avadanas, which consist in general of Bodhisattva 
legends. Amongst these there should be noticed the 
Asoka cycle which forms a part of the Divyavadana or 
' Heavenly Avadanas.' The finest of these legends is the 
pathetic story of Kunala, the son of Asoka, whose eyes 
are put out by his wicked stepmother, without awakening 
in his heart any feelings of anger or hatred. I quote the 
summary of this story from the work of Oldenberg : 
" Kunala — this name was given to him on account of his 
wonderfully beautiful eyes, which are as beautiful as the 
eyes of the bird Kunala — lives far from the bustle of the 
court, devoted to meditation on impermanence. One of 
the queens is burning with love for the beautiful youth, 
but her solicitation and the menaces of disdained beauty 
are alike in vain. Thirsting for revenge, she contrives 
to have him sent to a distant province, and then issues 
an order to that quarter, sealed with the slyly stolen ivory 
seal of the king, for the prince's eyes to be torn out. 
When the order arrives, no one can be prevailed upon to 
lay hands on the noble eyes of the prince. The prince 
himself offers rewards to any one who should be prepared 
to execute the king's order. At last a man appears, 
repulsive to look on, who undertakes the performance. 
When, amid the cries of the weeping multitude, the first 
eye is torn out, Kunala takes it in his hand and says : 
' Why seest thou no longer those forms on which thou 
wast just now looking, thou coarse ball of flesh ? How 
they deceive themselves, how blamable are those fools, 
who cling to thee and say, " This is I." ' And when his 
second eye is torn out, he says : ' The eye of flesh, which 
is hard to get, has been torn from me, but I have 
won the perfect faultless eye of wisdom. The king has 

3H 



Aryasura 

forsaken me, but I am the son ot the highly exalted king 
of truth : whose child I am called.' He is informed that 
it is the queen, by whom the command concerning him 
was issued. Then he says : ' Long may she enjoy happi- 
ness, life, and power, who has brought me so much 
welfare.' And he goes forth a beggar with his wife ; 
and when he comes to his father's city, he sings to the 
lute before the palace. The king hears Kunala's voice; 
he has him called in to him, but when he sees the blind 
man before him, he cannot recognize his son. At last the 
truth comes to light. The king in the excess of rage and 
grief is about to torture and kill the guilty queen. But 
Kunala says : * It would not become thee to kill her. 
Do as honour demands, and do not kill a woman. There 
is no higher reward than that for benevolence : patience, 
sire, has been commanded by the Perfect One.' And he 
falls at the king's feet, saying : * O king, I feel no pain, 
notwithstanding the inhumanity which has been practised 
on me, I do not feel the fire of anger. My heart has 
none but a kindly feeling for my mother, who has given 
the order to have my eyes torn out. As sure as these 
words are true, may my eyes again become as they were ; ' 
and his eyes shone in their old splendour as before. 
" Buddhist poetry has nowhere glorified in more beautiful 
fashion, forgiveness, and the love of enemies than in the 
narrative of Kunala. But even here we feel that cool air 
which floats round all pictures of Buddhist morality. 
The wise man stands upon a height to which no act of 
man can approach. He resents no wrong which sinful 
passion may work him, but he even feels no pain under 
this wrong. The body, over which his enemies have 
power, is not himself. Ungrieved by the actions of other 
men, he permits his benevolence to flow over all, over the 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

evil as well as the good. ' Those who cause me pain and 
those who cause me joy, to all I am alike ; affection 
and hatred I know not. In joy and sorrow I remain 
unmoved, in honour and dishonour; throughout I am 
alike. That is the perfection of my equanimity.' " 
The whole of the Buddhist Sanskrit works so far described 
stand in a half-way position between the Hinayana and 
Mahayana, the Awakening of Faith ascribed vto Asva- 
ghosha, of course, excepted, though leaning more and more 
to the Mahayana side, a tendency which finds expression 
in an increasing emphasis on devotion to the Buddha 
upon the Bodhisattva ideal. 

Mahay ana-silt r as 

With the Mahayana-sutras we reach a series of works 
that are entirely and wholly Mahayanist. There is of 
course no Mahayana canon, but at the same time there are 
nine books which are still highly honoured by all sects of 
the Mahayana alike. Amongst these are the Lalitavistara 
already mentioned, the Ashtasahasrika-prajnapdramitd^ 
and the Saddkarmapundarlka. 

The last mentioned, the 'Lotus of the Good Law, 5 is 
perhaps the most important of these, and certainly of the 
chief literary interest. It may be dated about the end of 
the second century a.d. Here nothing remains of the 
human Buddha: the Buddha is a God above all other 
gods, an everlasting being, who ever was and for ever 
shall be; the Buddhist religion is here completely freed 
from a dependence upon history. The Lotus of the 
Good Law is rather a drama than a narrative; it is 
" An undeveloped mystery play, in which the chief inter- 
locutor, not the only one, is Sakyamuni, the Lord. It 
consists of a series of dialogues, brightened by the magic 
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Mahayana sutras 

effects of a would-be supernatural scenery. The phantas- 
magorical arts of the whole are as clearly intended to im- 
press us with the idea of the might and glory of the Buddha, 
as his speeches are to set forth his all-surpassing wisdom." 
Of literary interest are the numerous dramatic parables, 
such as that in which the Buddha is likened to a physician, 
whose many sons are struck down by an epidemic. He 
prepares for them a medicine, which some take, and are 
cured ; the remainder are perverse, and place no faith in 
the preparation. Then the father departs to a far country — 
the individual Buddha, that is, passes away — and then it is 
that the forsaken and still ailing sons turn to the remedy 
that has been left for them, knowing that they have no 
other resource. The narrator understands very well that 
trait of human nature whereby the man of genius is seldom 
appreciated until after his death ! 

The Karandavyuha, which was translated into Chinese 
already in the third century a.d. is concerned with the 
praise of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Sukkd- 
vativyuha praises the Buddha Amitabha, and the Blessed 
Land or Western Paradise. A more philosophical sutra, 
and one widely read in Japan at the present day, is the 
Vajracchedika, or Diamond-cutter, and this text will be 
familiar at least by name to many readers of the works of 
Lafcadio Hearn. 

The following passage will illustrate its metaphysical 
character, and reminds one of the saying of Behmen, 
in answer to the disciple's inquiry, Whither goeth the 
Soul when the Body dieth? — "There is no necessity for 
it to go anywhither." 

" And again ? O Subhuti, if anybody were to say that the 
Tathagata 1 goes, or comes, or stands, or sits, or lies down, 
1 In this book generally translated ' He-who-has-thus-attained.' 

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Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

he, O Subhuti, does not understand the meaning of my 
preaching. And why? Because the word Tathagata 
means one who does not go to anywhere, and does not 
come from anywhere; and therefore he is called the 
Tathagata (truly come), holy and fully enlightened." 
The very much more extended works known as the 
Prajnaparamitas are filled with similar texts upon the 
Emptiness (Sunyata) of things. Works of this class are 
known, having in various recensions 100,000, 25,000, 8000, 
and some smaller numbers of couplets ; thzPrajnapdmmitd 
of 8000 couplets is the most commonly met with. They 
deal in part with the Six Perfections of a Bodhisattva 
(Paramitas), and especially with the highest of these, 
Prajna, Transcendent Wisdom. This wisdom consists in 
perfect realization of the Void, the No-thing, the Sunyata ; 
all is mere name. In these works the repetitions and the 
long lists of particular illustrations of the general truths 
are carried to incredible lengths, far beyond anything to 
be found in the Hinayana Suttas. But let us remember 
that the single truth of the Emptiness of things, thus 
inculcated by repetition — a repetition similar to that of 
the endless series of painted and sculptured figures of the 
excavated churches and temple walls — is no easy thing to 
be realized; and the pious authors of these works were 
not concerned for an artistic sense of proportion, but 
with the dissemination of the saving truth. They did 
not believe that this truth could be too often repeated ; 
and if, for example, as they claim in the Vajracckedzka, 
it was known even to children and ignorant persons 
that matter itself could be neither a thing nor nothing, 
perhaps even the modern world might do well to 
consider the value of repetition as an educational prin- 
ciple. For in Europe it is not always remembered, 

318 



Nagarjuna and Others 

even in scientific circles, that Matter exists only as a 
concept. 

Ndgdrjitna and Others 

We have already mentioned the great Mahayana master 
Nagarjuna, who flourished in the latter part of the second 
century, a little after Asvaghosha. Like the latter he was 
first a Brahman, and Brahmanical philosophy is evident 
in his work. If not the founder of the Mahayana, he is 
the moulder of one of its chief developments, the Mad- 
hyamika school, of which the chief scriptures are his own 
Madhyamika sutra. In these he is chiefly concerned 
to demonstrate the indefinability of the Suchness (Bhuta- 
thuta), and he expresses this very plainly in several 
passages of these sutras, as follows : 

After his passing, deem not thus : 
6 The Buddha still is here' 
He is above all contrasts > 
To be and not to be. 

While living ; deem not thus : 
1 The Buddha is nozv here' 
He is above all contrasts, 
To be and not to be. 
and 

To think ' It is ' is eternalism, 
To think, * It is not,' is nihilism: 
Being and non-being, 
The wise cling not to either. 

The work of Kumarajiva consists in his biographies of 
Asvaghosha and Nagarjuna, and a certain legendary Deva 
or Aryadeva; these biographies were translated into 
Chinese early in the fifth century a.d. 

3^9 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

The works of Asanga, the great master of the Yogacara 
sect, were translated into Chinese in the sixth century. 

Shdnti Deva 

Most eminent amongst the later Mahayana poets is the 
sainted Shanti Deva, who is probably to be assigned 
to the seventh century. His Shikshasamuccaya, or 
' Student's Compendium ' is a work of infinite learning, 
each verse being provided with an extensive commentary 
and exegesis : the work itself neither is, nor is meant to 
be, original or personal. The two first of its twenty-seven 
verses run as follows : 

Since to my neighbours as to myself 

Are fear and sorrow hateful each, 

What then distinguishes my self, 

That I should cherish it above another's ? 

Wouldst thou to Evil put an end, 

And reach the Blessed Goal, 

Then let your Faith be rooted deep, 

And all your thought upon Enlightenment. 

Far more poetical, and in Buddhist literature very 
noticeable for its burden of personal emotion, is the 
Bodhicaryavatdra, or 'Way of Enlightenment,' where 
the loftiest note of religious art is again and again touched. 
This is perhaps the most beautiful of all poetic expressions 
of the Bodhisattva ideal, of self-dedication to the work of 
salvation, and the eternal activity of love. 1 
"Nothing new will be told here," says Shanti Deva, "nor 
have I skill in the writing of books; therefore I have 
1 This work has been compared to the Imitation of Christ of 
Thomas a Kempis ; both are works of true devotion and true art, but 
the Way of Enlightenment is not an 'Imitation' of Buddha, but 
teaches how a man may become a Buddha. 
320 



Shanti Deva 

done this work to hallow my own thoughts, not designing 
it for the welfare of others. By it the holy impulse 
within me to frame righteousness is strengthened ; but if 
a fellow creature should see it, my book will fulfil another 
end likewise. ,, 

The following is a part of Shanti Deva's self-dedication 
(Pranidhana) to the work of salvation : 
" I rejoice exceedingly in all creatures' good works that 
end the sorrows of their evil lot ; may the sorrowful find 
happiness! ... In reward for this righteousness that I 
have won by my works I would fain become a soother of 
all the sorrows of all creatures. . . . The Stillness (Nirvana) 
lies in surrender of all things, and my spirit is fain for 
the Stillness ; if I must surrender all, it is best to give it 
for fellow-creatures. I yield myself to all living creatures 
to deal with me as they list ; they may smite or revile me 
for ever, bestrew me with dust, play with my body, laugh 
and wanton ; I have given them my body, why shall I 
care ? Let them make me do whatever works bring them 
pleasure; but may mishap never befall any of them by 
reason of me. . . . May all who slander me, or do me 
hurt, or jeer at me, gain a share in Enlightenment. I 
would be a protector of the unprotected, a guide of way- 
farers, a ship, a dyke, and a bridge for them who seek the 
further Shore ; a lamp for them who need a lamp, a bed 
for them who need a bed, a slave for all beings who need 
a slave. ... I summon to-day the world to the estate of 
Enlightenment, and meanwhile to happiness ; may gods, 
demons, and other beings rejoice in the presence of all 
the Saviours ! " 

It is true that the old Buddhist love of loneliness and 
scorn of the flesh find expression again in Shanti Deva ; 
but there is a sensitive intimacy in his gentle words that 

x 321 



Buddha ftP the Gospel of Buddhism 

overcomes the coldness of the early Buddhist asceticism, 
and engages our sympathy without provoking disgust : 
" Trees are not disdainful, and ask for no toilsome wooing ; 
fain would I consort with those sweet companions ! Fain 
would I dwell in some deserted sanctuary, beneath a tree 
or in caves, that I might walk without heed, looking never 
behind ! Fain would I abide in nature's own spacious and 
lordless lands, a homeless wanderer, free of will, my sole 
wealth a clay bowl, my cloak profitless to robbers, fearless 
and careless of my body. Fain would I go to my home 
the graveyard, and compare with other skeletons my 
own frail body 1 for this my body will become so foul 
that the very jackals will not approach it because of its 
stench. The bony members born with this corporeal 
frame will fall asunder from it, much more so my friends. 
Alone man is born, alone he dies ; no other has a share in 
his sorrows. What avail friends, but to bar his way ? As 
a wayfarer takes a brief lodging, so he that is travelling 
through the way of existence finds in each birth but a 
passing rest. . . . 

" Enough then of worldly ways ! I follow in the path of 
the wise, remembering the Discourse upon Heedfulness, 
and putting away sloth. To overcome the power of dark- 
ness I concentre my thought, drawing the spirit away from 
vain paths and fixing it straightly upon its stay. . . . 
" We deem that there are two verities, the Veiled Truth 
and the Transcendent reality. The Reality is beyond the 
range of the understanding ; the understanding is called 
Veiled Truth. 1 . . . Thus there is never either cessation 

1 Veiled Truth, i.e. samvritti-satya, the saguna or apara vidya of the 
Vedanta, and the Reality, i.e. fiaramartha-satya, the nirguna or para 
vidya of the Vedanta, the former a ' distinction of manifold things,' the 
latter truth ' which is in the unity ' (Tauler). 
322 





Plate W 322 

FIGURES OF A YAKKHI OR DRYAD, AND OF A 

NAGARAJA OR SERPENT KING 
Guardian spirits of the Great Thiipa at Bharhut (3rd-2nd 
century B.C.) 



Sculpture and Painting 

or existence ; the universe neither comes to be nor halts 
in being. 1 Life's courses, if thou regardest them, are like 
dreams and as the plantain's branches ; in reality there is 
no distinction between those that are at rest and those that 
are not at rest. Since then the forms of being are empty, 
what can be gained, and what lost ? Who can be honoured 
or despised, and by whom ? 2 Whence should come joy or 
sorrow ? What is sweet, what bitter ? What is desire, 
and where shall this desire in verity be sought ? If thou 
considerest the world of living things, who shall die 
therein ? who shall be born, who is born ? who is a kins- 
man and who a friend, and to whom ? Would that my 
fellow-creatures should understand that all is as the void ! 
. . . righteousness is gathered by looking beyond the 
Veiled Truth." 



//. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING 
As little as Early Buddhism dreamed of an expression of 
its characteristic ideas through poetry, drama, or music, 
so little was it imagined that the arts of sculpture and 
painting could be anything other than worldly in their 
purpose and effect. The hedonistic prepossessions are 
too strong — and this is also true of other contemporary 
Indian thought — for any but a puritanical attitude toward 
the arts to have been possible to the philosopher. The 
arts were regarded as a sort of luxury. Thus we find 
such texts as the following : 

1 How like Bergson the thought that the universe never halts in 
being ! 

2 " He who deems This to be a slayer, and he who thinks This to be 
slain, are alike without discernment ; This slays not, neither is it slain." 
— Bhagavad Gltd, ii, 19. 

323 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

" Beauty is nothing to me, neither the beauty of the body, 
nor that that comes of dress. 1 

"If a Brother or Sister sees various colours, such as 
wreaths, dressed images, dolls, clothes, woodwork, plaster- 
ing, paintings, jewellery, ivory- work, strings, leaf-cutting, 
they should not, for the sake of pleasing the eye, go where 
they will see these colours and forms." 2 
Sisters were forbidden to look on ' conversation pictures ' 
or love scenes; while the Brethren were only permitted- 
to have painted on the monastery walls or the walls of 
their cave retreats the representation of wreaths and 
creepers, never of men and women. The hedonistic 
foundation of these injunctions is very clearly revealed in 
a passage of the later Visuddhi Magga — for the Hlnayana 
maintains the puritanical tradition to the end, with only 
slight concession in admitting the figure of the Buddha 
himself — in a passage where ' painters and musicians ' are 
classed with * perfumers, cooks, elixir-producing physicians 
and other like persons who furnish us with objects of 
sense.' 

'Early Buddhist' Art 

It is only in the third and second centuries B.C. that we 
find the Buddhists patronizing craftsmen and employing 
art for edifying ends. From what has already been said, 
however, it will be well understood that there had not 
yet come into being any truly Buddhist or idealistic 
Brahmanical religious art, and thus it is that Early 
Buddhist art is really the popular Indian art of the time 

1 Infinitely remote from a modern view, which was also current in 
Mediaeval India, that ' the secret of all art . . . lies in the faculty of 
Self-oblivion.' — Riciotto Canudo, Music as a Religion of the Future. 

2 Dasa Dhammika Sutta. 

3 2 4 




Plate X 



FIGURE OF YAKKHI, A DRYAD 

From decorated gateway of the Sanchi Sttipa (2nd century B.C.) 



Early 



Buddhist Art 

adapted to Buddhist ends, while one special phase of 
art, represented by the capitals of the Asoka columns 
(Plate P) and other architectural motifs is actually of 
extra-Indian origin. 

Such non-Buddhist art as we have evidence of in the 
time of Asoka is concerned with the cults of the Nature 
spirits — the Earth Goddess, the Nagas or Serpent Kings 
of the Waters, and the Yakkha kings who rule the Four 
Quarters. The Early Buddhist art of Bharhut and 
SanchI, which is Asokan or a little later than Asokan, 
reflects the predominance of these cults in the low-relief 
figures of the Yakkha Guardians of the Quarters which 
the entrance gateways (Plate O) of the ambulatory are 
protected. The victory of Buddhism over the animistic 
cults — of course, only a partial victory, for these cults 
flourish even to-day — is suggested by the presence of 
these Nature spirits (Plate W) acting as the guardians 
of Buddhist shrines, just as in the story of Buddha's life, 
by the episode of the Naga Mucalinda who becomes the 
Buddha's protector and shelter during the week of storms 
(Plate A6). The Nature spirits seem to be also repre- 
sented with a purely decorative, or perhaps reverential 
intention, in the case of the dryad figures (Plate X) asso- 
ciated with trees on the upper part of the SanchI gates. 
These beautiful and sensuous figures are of high aesthetic 
rank, powerful and expressive : but in their vivid pagan 
utterance of the love of life, how little can we call them 
Early Buddhist art ! 

Apart from the figures of Nature spirits and the repre- 
sentations of animals, decorative or protective, the art 
of the SanchI gateways is devoted to the illustration of 
edifying legends, the stories of the Buddha's former lives 
(Jatakas) and of the last incarnation. In these delicately 

325 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

executed sculptures in low-relief we have a remarkable 
record of Indian life with its characteristic environment, 
manner, and cults, set out with convincing realism and a 
wealth of circumstantial detail. But though they tell us 
in what manner the holy legend was visualized within a 
few centuries of the Buddha's death, they are fundamentally 
illustrations of edifying episodes, and only to a very 
limited extent — far less, for example, than at Borobodur — 
can be said to express directly the Buddhist conceptions 
of life and death. 

There is, however, one respect in which that view is 
perfectly reflected, and this is in the fact — strange as it 
may at first appear — that the figure of the Master himself 
is nowhere represented. Even in the scene which illus- 
trates Siddhattha's departure from his home, 1 Kanthaka's 
back is bare, and we see only the horse, with the figures 
of Channa, and of the attendant Devas who lift up his 
feet so that the sound of his tread may not be heard, and 
who bear the parasol of dominion at his side. The 
Buddha, however, may be symbolized in various ways, 
as by the Wisdom Tree, the Umbrella of Dominion, or, 
most typically, by conventionally represented Footprints. 
It will be seen that the absence of the Buddha figure from 
the world of living men — where yet remain the traces of 
his ministry- — is a true artistic rendering of the Master's 
guarded silence respecting the after-death state of those 
who have attained Nibbana — " the Perfect One is released 
from this, that his being should be gauged by the measure 
of the corporeal world," he is released from " name and 
form." In the omission of the Buddha figure, then, this 
Early Buddhist art is truly Buddhist, but in nearly all 

1 Depicted on the central horizontal beam of the east Sanchi gate 

(Plate O). 

326 




Plate Y 326 

STANDING IMAGE OF THE BUDDHA 

Anuradhapura (2nd~3rd century a.d.) 



The Buddhist Primitives 

else it is an art about Buddhism, rather than Buddhist 
art. 

The Buddhist Primitives 

We have explained above under the heading * Beginnings 
of the Mahay-ana,' in what manner the Buddha came 
to be regarded as a personal god, and how the Early 
Buddhist intellectual discipline is gradually modified by 
the growth of a spirit of devotion which finds expression 
in worship and the creation of a cult. This may to a 
large extent reflect the growing influence of the lay com- 
munity, and it is paralleled by similar tendencies in the 
development of other contemporary phases of belief. 
With what passionate abandon even the symbols of the 
% Feet of the Lord ' were adored will appear in the 
illustration (Plate Q) from the sculptures of Amaravatl, 
a Buddhist shrine in southern India, lavishly decorated 
with carvings in low relief, mostly of the second century 
a.d. Feeling such as this could not but demand an 
object of worship more personal and more accessible 
than the abstract conception of one whose being lay 
beyond the grasp of thought, for "exceeding hard" in 
the words of the Bhagavad Gttd, " is the unshown 
way." Thus the Buddha, and together with him first one 
and then another of the Bodhisattva saviours, originally 
idealizations of particular virtues, came to be regarded 
as personal gods responsive to the prayers of their 
worshippers, and extending the vessel of their divine 
benevolence and infinite compassion to all who seek their 
aid. This was the human need which alike in Buddhist 
and Hindu churches determined the development of 
iconography. 

The form of the Buddha image — the figure of the seated 

327 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

yogi — was determined in another way. We have already 
under the headings of 'Yoga' and 'Spiritual Exercise/ 
explained the large part that is played, even in Early 
Buddhism, by the practice of contemplation. At a very 
early date, probably already, in fact, in the time of Buddha, 
the seated yogi, practising a mental discipline or attaining 
the highest station of Samadhi, must have represented to 
the Indian mind the ultimate achievement of spiritual 
effort, and the attainment of the Great Quest. And so, 
when it was desired to represent by a visible icon the 
figure of Him-who-had-thus-attained, the appropriate 
form was ready to hand. It is most likely that images 
of the seated Buddha were already in local and private 
use as cult objects, but it is not until the beginning of the 
Christian era that they begin to play a recognized part in 
official Buddhist art, 1 and the Buddha figure is introduced 
in narrative sculpture. 

It is very probable that examples of these earliest 
Buddhist primitives are no longer extant, but even 
if that be so, the splendid and monumental figures 
of Anuradhapura and Amaravati of perhaps the second 
century a.d., still reflect almost the full force of primitive 
inspiration. Of these figures there is none finer — 
and perhaps nothing finer in the whole range of Buddhist 
art — than the colossal figure at Anuradhapura illus- 
trated in Plate K. With this figure are to be associated 
a standing image of Buddha (Plate E) and one of 
a Bodhisattva, and these again are closely related to 

1 As pointed out by M. Foucher, the image on the Kanishka reliquary 
'indicates an already stereotyped art . . . and this votive document 
suffices to throw back by at least a century the creation of the plastic type 
of the Blessed One, and thus to take us back to the first century before 
our era.' — BOrigine grecque de P Image du Bouddha^ Paris, 191 3, p. 31. 

328 




riEffl^ 



Sw <-> -s ^ 




Graeco-Buddhist Sculpture 

the standing Buddha figures of Amaravatl. In these 
austere images the moral grandeur of the Nibbana ideal 
finds its own direct expression . in monumental forms, 
free of all irrelevant statement or striving for effect, and 
these are prototypes that are repeated in all subsequent 
hieratic Buddhist art. 

Grceco-Buddkist Sculpture 

From these works we must return to a consideration of the 
slightly earlier, better known and far more abundant art of 
Gandhara, generally called ' Graeco-Buddhist.' This art 
is so called because, apart from the seated Buddha form, 
which must of course be wholly Indian, the leading types 
of the Buddhist pantheon — viz. the standing Buddha 
figure, the reclining type, the figures of Bodhisattvas and 
of other Buddhist divinities, as well as the types of com- 
position of some of the scenes of the Buddha's life, and 
likewise certain details of architectural ornament, are either 
directly based upon or strongly influenced by Grseco-Roman 
prototypes. Gandhara art is in fact a phase of provincial 
Roman art, mixed with Indian elements, and adapted to 
the illustration of Buddhist legends. The influence of the 
western forms on all later Indian and Chinese Buddhist 
art is clearly traceable: but the actual art of Gandhara 
gives the impression of profound insincerity, for the com- 
placent expression and somewhat foppish costume of the 
Bodhisattvas, and the effeminate and listless gesture of 
the Buddha figures (Plate AA) but faintly express the 
spiritual energy of Buddhist thought. From the western 
point of view also the art must be regarded as even more 
decadent than that of Roman art within the Roman Empire : 
for truly, " in the long sands and flats of Roman realism 
the stream of Greek inspiration was lost for ever," and 

329 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

there is no better evidence of this than the art of Gandhara. 
It is of interest to observe also the manner in which certain 
Indian symbols are awkwardly and imperfectly interpreted, 
for this affords proof, if that were needed, that the types in 
question are of older, and Indian origin. A clear case is 
that of the lotus seat which is the symbol of the Buddha's 
spiritual purity or divinity. The seated Buddha of Gand- 
hara is insecurely and uncomfortably balanced on the 
prickly petals of a disproportionately small lotus, and this 
defect at once destroys the sense of repose which is above 
all essential to the figure of the yogi — who is likened in 
Indian books to the flame in a windless spot that does not 
flicker — and in immediate conflict with the Yoga texts 
which declare that the seat of meditation must be firm 
and easy (stkira-sukha). We see before us the work of 
foreign craftsmen imitating Indian formulae which they 
did not understand. We cannot think of this as an original 
and autochthonous art, despite its historical interest, and 
it is certainly not primitive in the sense in which this 
word is used by artists. 1 

Iconography 

We may digress here to describe the chief types of Buddha 
image. The seated figure has three main forms, the first 
representing pure Samadhi, the highest station of ecstasy 
— here the hands are crossed in the lap in what is known 
as dhyana mudrd, the * seal of meditation ' (Plate K) ; 
the second, in which the right hand is moved forward 
across the right knee to touch the earth, in what is known 
as the bhumisparsa mudra, the ' seal of calling the eartn 
to witness ' (Plates Ta, Zb) ; the third with the hands 

1 " In primitive art you will find . . . absence of representation, absence 
of technical swagger, sublimely impressive form,"— CUve Bell, Art, p. 22, 

330 




Plate A A 330 

THE FIRST SERMON (TURNING THE WHEEL 

OF THE LAW) 

Gandhara, ist-2nd century a.d. 

British Museum 



Iconography 

raised before the chest in the position known as dharrna- 
cakra mtcdra, the 'seal of turning the wheel of the 
law' (Plates B, C, AA). In a fourth type the right 
hand is raised and the palm turned outward, making 
the gesture known as abhaya mudra y the 'seal ofi dis- 
pelling fear.' The last pose is characteristic for standing 
figures, where the left hand grasps the end of the 
robe (Plates E, Y). In Bodhisattva figures the right 
hand is very often extended in the vara mudra or 
'seal of charity' (Plate R), while the! left hand holds 
an attribute, such as the lotus of Avalokitesvara 
(Plates R, Za). But the variety of Bodhisattvas is 
great. Another characteristic pose is known as vitarka 
mudrdy the 'seal of argument,' indicating the act of 
teaching (Plate Zc). Other forms are generally self- 
explanatory, like the sword of wisdom which is held 
aloft by Manjusri (Plate DD) to cleave the darkness 
of ignorance. It will also be noticed that the Buddha 
images have certain physical peculiarities, of which the 
most conspicuous is the ushnisha or protuberance on the 
top of the skull. Technically this appears to be derived 
from a western form of headdress, but in significance 
it is to be classed with the physical characters attributed 
by Indian physiognomists to the Superman, the Maha- 
purusha. This ushnisha serves to distinguish the Buddha 
figure from that of a mere Brother, for the heads of the 
Bhikkhu (Plate L) is always shaved bare and without 
the Buddha's bump of wisdom. The Buddha type {e.g. 
Plate E) is distinguished, on the other hand from that 
of the Bodhisattva, in whom the ushnisha is also evident, 
by the difference of costume: that of the Buddha is 
monastic, while that of the Bodhisattva is the full and 
jewelled garb of a king or god. In all three cases the 

331 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

ears are pierced and elongated, but the Bodhisattva 
alone wears earrings. The monastic costume of the 
Buddha and the Brethren consists of three strips of 
cloth, forming an undergarment {antaravasaka) worn 
about the loins like a skirt, and fastened by a 
girdle, an upper garment (uttarasanga) covering the 
breast and shoulders and falling below the knees 
and a cloak (sanghati) worn over the two other 
garments. It is this outer cloak which is naturally 
most conspicuous in the sculptured images. In standing 
figures the drapery is treated with elaboration, and the 
more so the stronger the western influence — being based 
on the drapery of the well-known Lateran Sophocles, and 
amounting to absolute identity of design between the 
Graeco-Christian Christ and the Graeco-Buddhist Buddha : 
but in a majority of typically Indian figure the drapery is 
almost transparent, and indicated by a mere line. In 
Gupta images especially the whole figure is plainly 
revealed (Plates B, E). The upper robes are worn in two 
different ways, in the one case covering both shoulders, 
in the other leaving the right shoulder bare. Another 
conspicuous feature of Buddha images is the nimbus or 
glory, which assumes various forms, the early types being 
plain, those of the Gupta period elaborately decorated ; 
this again appears to be a motif that is technically 
western, at the same time that it reflects the traditions 
regarding the ' Buddha rays ' and the transfiguration, and 
from a visionary standpoint may be called realistic. 

Classic Buddhist Art 

The various types of Buddhist art to which we have 

so far referred, from this time onward draw closer and 

closer together, to constitute one national art and style 

332 




Plate B B 



332 



THE BUDDHA 

Cambodia, I3th-i4th century 
Collection of Mr Victor Golonbew 



Classic Buddhist Art 

which extend throughout Indian in the Gupta period, and 
form the main foundation of the colonial and missionary- 
phases of Buddhist art in Siam and Cambodia, Burma, 
Java, China, and Japan. One of the most marked characters 
of Gupta art is the fullness and suavity of all its forms, well 
exemplified in the two figures illustrated on Plates B, E ; 
the latter of these is a standing figure from Mathura, the 
other a seated image from the site of the old monastery 
of the Deer Park at Benares, where the first sermon 
was preached. It will be seen that by this time the 
foreign elements introduced by way of Gandhara are 
completely absorbed and Indianized, and in the words of 
Professor Oscar Mlinsterberg, " developed under national 
and Buddhist inspiration into a new and genuine art." 
From Indian Gupta art there is an imperceptible transi- 
tion to Indian classic, which is more mouvementie and 
distinguished by more slender forms and greater delicacy 
and mastery of technique. It is in the late Gupta and 
Early Classic painting of Ajanta that Indian Buddhist 
art which began with the creation of the seated figure, 
attains its final perfection and completes its cycle. These 
paintings, like the low reliefs of Sanchi and Bharhut, 
chiefly illustrate the stories of the Buddha's former birth 
and last incarnation. There is indicated, however, a long 
development in doctrine and in technique. The Buddha 
figure is freely represented, but the hieratic type is 
generally subordinate to that of the Bodhisattva as the 
living and moving hero in the stories of human and 
animal life, where he exhibits every possible perfection of 
character. What is even more noteworthy is the fact 
that Ajanta painting does not echo the disparagement of 
life which is so conspicuous in the Pali Suttas — where the 
world of living beings is so bitterly denounced as * unclean ' 

333 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

— but represents this life with passionate sympathy for all 
its sensuous perfection. Praise of the beauty of women 
could not be more plainly spoken, and the sound of music 
is everywhere: no reference is made to age, and there 
is no insistence upon death or suffering, for human and 
animal life alike are always represented at the highest levels 
of experience. It is in quite another way that Buddhist ideals 
are here expressed — by the ever present sense of tragedy : 
for the very emphasis on youth and beauty is the revelation 
of their transcience. The life of the world is depicted 
with such transparency — " as if in a mountain fastness 
there were a pool of water, clear, translucent, and serene" 
—that it appears like the substance of a dream, too frail 
to grasp, however heaven-like its forms. And there 
moves through these enchanted scenes the figure of one 
whose heart is set on a more distant goal, and feels an 
infinite compassion for all born beings whose sweet 
delights are subject to mortality (Plate CC). It is 
just because the mediaeval Buddhist consciousness has 
learnt so well to understand the value of the world that 
the figure of One who seeks to save all creatures from 
this radiant phenomenal life appears so tragic. 
" ' It is not that I do not value these my tusks,' says the 
Bodhisattva elephant in the Chaddanta Jdtaka, 'nor 
that I desire the status of a god, but because the tusks of 
Infinite Wisdom are dearer to me a thousand times than 
these, that I yield you these, good hunter.' " 
It is to be observed, too, that the spiritual Superman is 
never poor and despised, but always freely endowed with 
the lordship and the wealth of the world, he does not 
scorn the company of beautiful women. Dharma, artka, 
and kdma, social virtue, wealth, and the pleasures of the 
senses are his, and yet the Bodhisattva's thoughts are 
334 




Plate C C 334 

BODHISATTVA, PERHAPS AVALOKITESVARA 
Ajanta fresco (6th-7th century a.d.) 



Classic Buddhist Art 

not diverted from the fourth 'human end' of rnoksha, 
salvation. So far from the rich man representing the 
type of him who cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, 
riches and power are represented as the natural evidence 
of goodness; and without such riches and such power 
how could the Bodhisattva's supernatural generosity be 
sufficiently displayed ? 

Up to this point, of course, we have spoken rather of 
ethics than of art. It is not, however, the literally Buddhist 
subject-matter of Ajanta art that makes it so profoundly 
moving — we do not need to know what the paintings were 
about before we are able to feel their significance. Artists 
painted thus, not because they were Buddhists, but because 
they were artists. The intellectual and logical content, 
the narrative element is so entirely subordinate to direct 
emotion that it is sometimes difficult to realize that the 
subject of all the Ajanta paintings is really Buddhist. 
It is always easy for the artisan to illustrate a creed or a 
legend, but only when he is an artist is he able at the 
same time to express the deeper and fundamental reality 
upon which all creed and ritual are based. Certainly the 
Early Buddhists, who hated 'conversation pictures,' that 
is to say, love scenes such as we often see at Ajanta, and 
all who adhere to hedonistic views of art, might utterly 
condemn the whole work as worldly, or even fleshly. 
We have already seen, however, that dogmatic content 
has no necessary connexion with the spiritual significance 
of a work of art, for nothing could well be less spiritual 
than the conspicuously ' Buddhist ' art of Gandhara. 
After the seventh century Buddhism declined in India 
proper, and continued to flourish only in Bengal, Nepal 
and Ceylon, and in the eastern colonies. The widely 
distributed and splendid monuments of Indian classic 

335 



Buddha ®* the Gospel of Buddhism 

sculpture are thus — as at Elephanta, Ellora, and Mamal- 
lapuram — almost entirely Hindu in subject. It is only 
here and there that there survive a few precious relics of 
purely Indian Buddhist sculpture of the classic age. 
Probably the best of these is the little Sinhalese bronze 
of Avalokitesvara reproduced on Plate Zc, while the 
rather less impressive, but very gracious Sinhalese figure 
of Maitreya reproduced on Plate S may be a little later. 
The Nepalese figures of Buddha and Avalokitesvara, 
illustrated on Plates C, R, are closely related to Ajanta 
types, and range from the eighth to the eleventh century, 
and from the eleventh to the thirteenth century there 
are preserved several examples of beautifully illustrated 
Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts in the same style. Sub- 
sequent to this the Buddhist art of Nepal is modified 
by Tibetan, Chinese, and perhaps also Persian influences. 
Buddhist art persisted in Magadha and Bengal only until 
the final victories of Islam involved the destruction of the 
monasteries in the twelfth century. 

Colonial Indian Art 

India has been the source of a colonial art of great im- 
portance, developed from the sixth century onward in 
Burma, Siam, Cambodia, Laos, and particularly in Java : 
and the great part of this colonial art is Buddhist. The 
most important school is the Javanese. Java was colonized 
by Brahmanical Hindus in the early centuries of the Chris- 
tian era and largely converted to Buddhism a little later; 
the two forms of belief existed side by side until the Muham- 
madan conquests of the fifteenth century. The largest and 
finest Buddhist monument is the stupa of Borobodur; 
here the procession galleries are adorned by a series of 
some 2000 bas-reliefs illustrating the life of the Buddha 
336 




Plate D D 



MANJUSRI BODHISATTVA 

Java (14th century a.d.) 
Berlin 



336 



Colonial Indian Art 

according to the Lalitvaistara, as well as various legends 
from the Divyavadana and the Jatakas. The reliefs are 
so extensive that if laid end to end they would cover a 
space of more than two miles. We have here a third 
great illustrated Bible, similar in range, but more ex- 
tensive than the reliefs of Sanchi and the paintings of 
Ajanta. This is a * supremely devout and spontaneous 
art,' naturally lacking the austerity and the abstraction of 
the early Buddhist primitives, but marvellously gracious, 
decorative, and sincere. The episodes represented are 
by no means so exclusively courtly as is the case at 
Ajanta, but cover the whole circle of Indian life alike in 
city and village. The narrative element is more con- 
spicuous than at Ajanta, the craftsmen adhering closely to 
the book. But " every group and every figure are abso- 
lutely true and sincere in expression of face, gesture, and 
pose of body; and the actions which link the various 
groups and single features together are strongly and 
simply told, without effort or striving for effect — it was 
so, because so it could only be " ! 1 Buddhist art in Java 
continued to flourish for many centuries, and many works 
of great beauty are still preserved, both stone reliefs and 
sculptures in the round, and smaller and very delicate 
bronzes. Amongst the later works none are more im- 
pressive than the ManjusrI — the Bodhisattva who holds 
aloft the sword of wisdom — reproduced here on Plate 
DD, but I cannot agree that the well-known Prajna- 
paramita, though still beautiful, is ' one of the most spiritual 
creations of any art,' but much rather, as another critic 
has suggested, think of this comfortable and bejewelled 
gracious figure as ' all too human.' 

1 Havell, Indian Sculpture and Painting, p. 118. Many good repro- 
ductions will be found in the same volume. 

y 337 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

The Far East 

The Buddhist art of China is on another footing, for not- 
withstanding it repeats the forms of Indian art, China had 
already an old, and, from a technical standpoint, exceed- 
ingly accomplished art, and a profound philosophy of her 
own, before the Buddhist pilgrims and missionaries carried 
across the wastes of Central Asia the impulse to a new 
development of thought and of plastic art ; thus, although 
there were at one time many thousands of Indians in China, 
and some of these were Buddhist artists, yet Chinese 
Buddhist art is not, like Javanese, entirely Indian, but 
essentially a new thing, almost as much Chinese as 
Indian. 

The first introduction of Buddhism took place in the first 
century a.d. In the second century a golden statue, perhaps 
of the Buddha, was brought into China from the west ; in the 
same century a Buddhist mission reached China from 
Parthia. Buddhism did not however immediately obtain a 
firm hold, and the Chinese were then as now partly Confu- 
cianist, partly Taoist and partly Buddhist. Naturally as the 
early Buddhist influences came through western Asia, early 
Chinese Buddhist art exhibits some relation to the Graeco- 
Buddhist art of Gandhara ; but few traces of any work 
older than the fifth century now remain, and by that time 
the Graeco-Roman elements were almost negligible, or 
traceable only in minor details of ornament and technique. 
Under the Northern Wei dynasty of the early fifth cen- 
tury, however, there is an immense artistic activity, and 
the mountains and caves of Tatong are carved with 
countless images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of all 
sizes, from miniature to colossal, and these works are the 
typical Chinese Buddhist primitives. One colossal figure 

338 




Plate 



BODHISATTVA 

Chinese, school of Long-men (8th century) 
Cologne 



The Far East 

is some ninety feet in height and here the form is full and 
round, but some of the smaller figures are very delicate 
and slender. One of the features of immediate Indian 
origin is to be recognized in the gigantic figures of door- 
guardians represented as muscular giants protecting the 
entrances to the Buddhist caves. While in these figures 
the muscles are conspicuously developed and the body 
bare, the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures are always 
clothed and the details of the anatomy suppressed and 
generalized. Similar decorated caves are found at Long- 
men near the town of Honan, a later North Wei capital ; 
these excavations and sculptures belong to the sixth 
century. The inscriptions recording the various donations 
show that these works were commissioned by the king, 
the queen, the nobles, and even by individuals of the lower 
classes. A great development of Buddhist sculpture also 
took place in Korea. These figures like those already 
described are hewn out of the living rock, in an environ- 
ment of great natural beauty, far from the haunts of men. 
Buddhist art in India, as at Ajanta, and still more in the 
Far East, is constantly thus associated with naturally im- 
pressive scenes : and were it not for this love of Nature 
and for the institution of pilgrimage to sacred and far 
away sites, it would be difficult to account for the great 
part which is played in Chinese and Japanese art by land- 
scape painting somewhat later. 

It is from Korea that Buddhist thought and art were 
introduced to Japan in the sixth century. The new faith 
met with considerable opposition. The hero of the period 
of the first introduction of Buddhism to Japan is the 
renowned Prince Wumayado, who prepared the seventeen 
articles of the Japanese constitution, and wrote some 
remarkable commentaries on the Buddhist Sutras, setting 

339 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

forth the teachings of Nagarjuna : he is still worshipped 
by craftsmen and artisans as Patron of the Arts. The 
only remains of this period, however, are the colossal 
bronze Buddha of Ankoin, which has suffered many 
vicissitudes and is too much restored to afford a very 
definite idea of the earliest Japanese Buddhist art : and 
the famous temple of Horiuji near Nara, which is rich 
alike in contemporary sculpture and paintings. "We 
find in these works," says Okakura, "a spirit of intense 
refinement and purity, such as only great religious feeling 
could have produced. For divinity, in this early phase 
of national realization, seemed like an abstract ideal, 
unapproachable and mysterious, and even its distance 
from the naturalesque gives to art an awful charm." We 
are reminded here that all the early Buddhist art of the 
Far East is more purely hieratic and abstract than is the 
case, for example, at Ajanta, to which the painting at 
Horiuji is otherwise so closely related ; and the explana- 
tion is not far to seek. For when the artists of the Far 
East, together with the new religion, " adopted the Indian 
formulas and symbols, they kept these separate from the 
ordinary practice of their art, and so developed a special- 
ized hieratic quality, the rarest and most remote perhaps 
the art of the painter has ever expressed." Whereas, "to 
the Indian mind Buddha and his disciples were more 
actual figures, with positive relations to their own social 
world. The places where they lived and taught were to 
them definite places, to which they themselves could at 
any moment make pilgrimages," x and thus there was not 
in India that "separation of social and religious tradi- 
tions " which is apparent in Chinese art, as it is likewise 
evident in European religious sculpture and painting. Of 
1 W. Rothenstein, in Ajanta Frescoes (India Society), London, 19 15. 
340 




Plate F F 340 

THE BUDDHA 

Central figure of a triptych in the Tofukuji temple, Kyoto, 

Japan, ascribed to Wu Tao-tzu (Chinese, 8th century) 

From Tajuna, Selected Relics of Japanese Art, Vol I 



The Far East 

two early Japanese paintings of Samantabhadra and of 
ManjusrI, Mr Binyon remarks : 

"The fluid lines of form and drapery are of an indescrib- 
able sweetness and harmony, as if sensitive themselves 
with life; the colour also discloses itself as part of the 
calmly glowing life within, veined with fine lines of gold, 
not as something applied from without. Such images, as 
these, of which this early Buddhist art has created not a 
few, images of the infinite of wisdom and of tenderness, 
not only express the serenity of the spirit, but have in a 
degree unreached in any other art the power of including 
the spectator in their spiritual spell : to contemplate them 
is to be strangely moved, yet strangely tranquillized." x 
We must however return for a time to China, to consider 
the classic art of the T'ang epoch (a.d. 618-905), for this 
is the great creative age of the Far East, by which the 
whole future development both of Chinese and Japanese 
art is mainly determined : the part that Greece has played 
for Europe was played for Japan by China. 
" The T'ang era stands in history for the period of China's 
greatest external power — the period of her greatest poetry 
and of her grandest and most vigorous, if not, perhaps, 
her most perfect, art. Buddhism now took hold on the 
nation as it never did before, and its ideals pervaded the 
imagination of the time. China was never in such close 
contact with India; numbers of Indians, including three 
hundred Buddhist monks, actively preaching the faith, 
were to be found in the T'ang capital of Loyang. And 
Buddhist ideas permeate T'ang painting." 2 
The T'ang sculpture is best displayed in the sculptured 
caves of Longmen, near Honan, similar in method to the 

1 Binyon, Painting in the Far East, ed. 2, p. 105. 

2 Ibid. 

341 



Buddha &> the Gospel of Buddhism 

earlier excavations at Tatong; from these we reproduce here 
the central figure of a colossal Buddha (Plate F), and of 
the same school but unknown provenance the gracious and 
almost coquettish figure of a Bodhisattva (Plate EE), now in 
the museum at Cologne. Many other detached examples of 
T'ang Buddhist sculpture may be seen in the European and 
American museums. Intermediate in date between the Wei 
and T'ang periods is the monumental stele in black marble, 
in the collection of M. Goloubew, reproduced on Plate G. 
What little we know of the painting of the T'ang period 
is dominated by the great name of Wu Tao-tzu, of whom 
a few more or less authentic works are preserved in Japan. 
One of these, which if not actually the work of Wu Tao-tzu, 
is at any rate a masterwork of T'ang, is the beautiful Buddha 
figure of the Tofukuji temple in Kyoto, reproduced on 
Plate D. Another painting by a somewhat later artist, 
but thought to be after Wu Tao-tzu, is the Bodhisattva 
Kwanyin, the Indian Avalokitesvara, reproduced on 
Plate HH. At an early date the male Avalokitesvara was 
interpreted in China as a feminine divinity and saviouress, 
and there is a long and charming Chinese legend which 
recounts her life as an earthly princess. Since Kwanyin 
is a gracious saviouress who hears all cries and answers 
all prayers, it will readily be understood that she became 
one of the most popular of all Chinese and Japanese Budd- 
hist divinities, and the subject of innumerable paintings. 
It will be noticed in our example (from the collection of 
Mr C. L. Freer, and reproduced by his kindness) that the 
goddess holds a basket with a fish in her outstretched 
hand, whereas in a majority of representations she carries 
a willow spray or a phial of the water of life. 1 A more 

1 The cult of Kwanyin and the significance of the fish are discussed by 
R. F. Johnston, Buddhist China> ch. xi. 

342 




Plate G G 

KWANYIN 

Gilt bronze, mediaeval Japanese 
Collection of Mr H. Getty 



342 



The Far East 

famous work by Wu Tao-tzu was the * Death of Buddha,' 
painted in a.d. 742, of which " We know at least the com- 
position, for Wu Tao-tzu's design was repeated by more 
than one early master of Japan, and the original is described 
in Chinese books. In the British Museum is a large 
painting of this subject, by the hand of a great artist 
entirely modelled on the art of T'ang. Magnificent indeed 
is the conception. The whole of creation is wailing and 
lamenting around the body of the Buddha, who lies peace- 
ful in the midst, having entered into Nirvana, under a great 
tree, the leaves of which are withered where they do not 
cover him. Saints and disciples, kings, queens, priests and 
warriors, weep and beat their breasts ; angels are grieving 
in the air ; even the beasts of the field and the forest, the 
tiger, the panther, the horse, the elephant, show sorrow in 
all their limbs, rolling with moans upon the ground ; and 
the birds cry. An ecstasy of lamentation impassions the 
whole work. What must have been the effect of the 
original ? " * 

Three hundred other painters' names of the T'ang period 
are known, but not their works. The greatest of these is 
Wang Wei, who is a painter of landscape, and probably 
supreme in China, as the Chinese are supreme in this art 
in the world. It should be remarked that the Chinese 
landscape painter's interests are far from topographical ; 
he uses the familiar scenes or lonely mountains and forests 
to interpret and communicate a mood, or express a philo- 
sophic concept. It is in this way that landscape art, though 
it is not specifically Buddhist, lends itself to religious 
sentiment. There is a Sung painting of the thirteenth 
century called the Evening Chime of the Distant Temple. 
"A range of mountains lifts its rugged outline in the 
1 Binyon, Painting in the Far East. 

343 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 

twilight, the summits accentuated and distinct against 
the pale sky, the lower parts lost in mist, among which 
woods emerge or melt along the uneven slopes. Some- 
where among those woods, on high ground, the curved 
roof of a temple is visible. It is just that silent hour 
when travellers say to themselves, ' The day is done,' and 
to their ears come from the distance the expected sound 
of the evening bell. The subject is essentially the same 
as that which the poetic genius of Jean Francois Millet 
conceived in the twilight of Barbizon, at the hour when 
the Angelus sounds over the plain from the distant church 
of Chailly." 

But as another critic has remarked on this : 
" What a difference in the treatment ! Millet places Man 
in the foreground, explaining the content of the picture 
by human action, but the Chinese artist needs no figure, 
nothing but a hint; the spectator must complete the 
thought himself." 

The world of Nature at this time had come to mean for 
the Chinese artist something other than we are accustomed 
to think of in connexion with European landscape. In 
one way he uses Nature's forms as the phrases of a philo- 
sophical language, likening mountain and mist, dragon 
and tiger, to the Great Extremes : so that while the 
modern critic can perhaps appreciate much of their purely 
aesthetic quality, it is only by an effort that he realizes 
the depth of suggestion and mystical significance which 
these monochrome brush drawings have for the Chinese 
student steeped in Buddhist nature lore and Taoist philo- 
sophy. Very often also even this underlying philosophical 
significance is, so to say, unexpressed. In any case, 
"The life of nature and of all non-human things is re- 
garded in itself; its character contemplated and its 
344 




Plate H H 



KWANYIN 

Chinese painting, ioth-i2th century, after 

Wu Tao-tzu 

Collection of Mr C. L. Freer 



3U 



The Far East 

beauty cherished for its own sake, not for its use and 
service in the life of man. There is no infusion of human 
sentiment into the pictures of birds and beasts, of the 
tiger roaring in the solitudes, of the hawk and eagle on 
the rocky crag; rarely is there any touch of the sports- 
man's interest which has inspired most European pictures 
of this kind." » 

Even the smallest flower, the most trivial insect can thus 
be represented with such intensity of vision as to seem a 
world in itself: and this world is a part of humanity, 
as man is a part of the world by nature. The world 
of nature is not merely an object of interest, but a per- 
petual expression of the one life. Those strange lines 
of Blake 

The caterpillar on the leaf 
Reminds me of my mother s grief 

would have been immediately intelligible to every cultivated 
reader of mediaeval Chinese and Japanese epigrams, and 
would have inspired, most likely, innumerable paintings, in 
which the caterpillar should be so represented as to set 
forth to the eye and still more to the heart of the spectator 
the essential unity of all existences. This is the ' Sermon 
of the Wild ' ; and to be sensitive to these prophecies and 
intimations is characteristic alike of poetry and painting in 
the later developments of the Mahayana. Thus in China 
as in India, but in a different fashion, thought expressed in 
art developed from an early hieratic formulation to a 
representation of the pure transparency of life. 

1 Binyon, loc. cit. 



345 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CONSULTED 
BY THE AUTHOR 

Arnold, Sir Edwin : The Light of Asia. 

Barnett, Prof. L. D. : The Path of Light (Bodhicaryavatara oj Sdnti- 

Deva), London, 1909. 
Beal, S. : The Romantic History of Buddha. London, 1875. 
Beal, S. A.: Catena of Buddhist Scriptures. London, 187 1. 
Binyon, L. : Painting in the Far East. (2nd ed.) London, 1913. 
Burgess, J. : Amardvati and Jaggayyapeta. London, 1887. 
Chavannes, E. : Mission Archceologique dans la Chine septentrionale. 

1909. 
Coomaraswamy, A. : Arts and Crafts of Lndia and Ceylon. London, 

1913- 

Bronzes from Ceylon^ chiefly in the Colombo Museum. Colombo, 

1914. 
Buddhist Primitives, "Burlington Magazine," Jan., March, 19 16. 
Mahay ana Buddhist Images from Ceylon and Java. " Journal of 

the Royal Asiatic Society." 1909. 
Mediceval Sinhalese Art. Campden, 1908. 
Cowell, Max Muller, and Takakakuso. : Buddhist Mahay ana Sutras 

(Buddhacarita of Asvaghosha, etc.). Oxford (S.B.E.) 1894. 
Cunningham, A. : Mahabodhi. London, 1892. 

Stupa of Bharhut, London, 1879, 
Foucaux, E. : Rgya TchHer Rol Pa (Lalita-vistara). Paris, 1848. 
Foucher, A. : Etude sur Viconographie bouddhique de VInde. Paris, 
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Z' Art grico-bouddhique du Gandhara. Paris, 1905. 
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Le ■ Grand Miracle ' du Buddha a Srdvastl. u Journal Asiatique," 

1909. 
L'origine grecque de V Image du Bouddha. Paris, 19 13. 
Garbe, R. : Samkhya and Yoga (" Grundriss der Indo-arischen Philo- 

logie"). Strassburg, 1896. 
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Goloubew, V. : Peintures Bouddhiques aux Indes. " Annales du Musee 
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347 



Bibliography 



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Early Buddhism. London, 1908. 

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Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism. London, 1907. 
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349 



GLOSSARY 

Where a word is given in two forms, the first is Pali, the second, 
within brackets, is Sanskrit. Elsewhere the distinction is indicated by 
the letters P and S. The Pali and Sanskrit terms are, of course, cognate 
throughout. 

Ahamkarcii S : the conceit of individuality, empirical egoism. 

Ak/iydna, S : an old literary form, viz. conte fable. 

Alamkara, S : rhetoric, poetic ornament. 

Alaya-vijndna, S : Cosmic Mind or Reason, realm of the Platonic Ideas. 

An-attd, P : the doctrine that there are no egos, or souls. 

Anicca (anitya) : impermanence, transcience. 

Antahkarana, S : inner actor, the inner man, the c soul.' 

Apara vidyd, S : relative truth, esoteric truth. 

Arahat, P : one who has attained to Arahatta. 

Arahatta, P : the state of saving truth, the state of one who has attained 

Nibbana, or walks in the Fourth Path of which the fruit is 

Nibbana. 
Ariya (drya) : noble, gentle, honourable. 
Ariyasaccani (dryasatydni) : the Four Noble Truths emunciated in 

Buddha's first sermon. 
Arupa-lokas, S : the Four Highest Heavens, transcending form. 
Asubha-jhdna, P : meditation on the essential uncleanness of things. 
Atman, S: (i) taken by Buddhists in the sense of ego, or soul; 

(2) in Brahmanism, the Absolute, unconditioned, spirit, Brahman ; 

also the reflection of the Absolute in the individual. 
Atta (artha) : aim, gain, advantage, profit. 
Attd (atman), P : self, soul, person, ego ; a permanent unity in the sense 

of an 'eternal soul,' the existence of which is denied in the pioposition 

1 an-atta.' Attd etymologically = atman, but does not connote the 

unconditioned Atman of the Brahman absolutists. 
Avidyd, S : ignorance, the contraction of Suchness into variety. The 

basis of Tankd, and thus of the whole Samsdra. 

Ignorance is the true ' First Cause ' of Indian philosophy : but this 

'First Cause' is 'first' only as 'fundamental,' not as temporal. 

Ignorance can be overcome by the individual consciousness, which 

is then ' set free," vimutto. 
Bhakti, S : loving devotion. 

351 



Glossary 



Bhakti marga, S : the way of love, the means of salvation by devotion. 

Bhavanga-gati, P, S : the ordinary unconscious life of the body, etc. 

Bhikkhu, P : mendicant friar, ' Buddhist priest.' 

Bhikkhuni, P : feminine of Bhikkhu. 

Bodhi, P : wisdom, Suchness, intuition, illumination, inner light. Cf. 
Persian 'Ishq. 

Bodhi-citta, P : heart-of-wisdom, inward light, grace, ' shoot of ever- 
lastingnesse,' the divine spark of the Buddha-nature in the heart. 

Bodhisatta {Bodhisattva) : Wisdom-being, (i) Gautama before attain- 
ing enlightenment; (2) any individual self-dedicate to the 
salvation of others and destined to the attainment of Buddha- 
hood. 

Brahma, S : the supreme personal god so called. 

Brahmacarya, S : chaste life, especially of a Brahmanical student. 

Brahman, S : a man of the Brahmana varna, a Brahman by birth, a 
philosopher, priest. Ethically, one who fulfils the ideal of a true 
Brahman. 

Brahman, Brahma, S : the Absolute, the Unconditioned, which is ' Not 
so, not so,' the Ground, the Undivided Self, the World of 
Imagination. 

Buddha, P, 3 : Enlightened. (1) Siddhattha Gautama, after attaining 
enlightenment ; (2) other individuals who have similarly attained 
Nibbana ; (3) any such individual considered as a supreme God, 
whose attainment of Buddhahood is timeless. 

Buddhi, P, S : enlightenment, intelligence. 

Cakka (cakra): 'wheel.' Symbol of sovereignty, hence the Wheel of 
the Good Law, of the Gospel. 

Cariya, P : ' course,' the succession of lives of a Bodhisattva. 

Cetana, P : will. 

Citta, P ; heart, Suchness. 

Deva, P, S : any personal god, angel, e.g. Brahma, Sakka. 

Dhamma (dharma) : Norm, gospel, law, righteousness, morality, 
religion ; condition. 

Dhamma-cakkhu, S : Eye for the truth. 

Dharmakaya, S : law body, Logos, the supreme state of a Buddha ; 
Absolute Being, the Ground ; absolute knowledge. 

Dibba-cakkhu, P : heavenly eye, omniscient vision of the Universe of 
Form (Rupaloka and Kamaloka). 

Dosa, P : hatred, resentment, revenge, anger. 

35 2 



Glossary 

Dukkha, P : evil, suffering, sin, imperfection. One of the Three Signs 
of Existence and one of the Four Ariyan Truths. 

Hinayana : the ' Little Vessel,' a term applied by the Mahayanists to 
the doctrines of early Buddhism. The Hlnaydna is set forth in 
the Pali Theravada. Sometimes, but not accurately, called 
Southern Buddhism. 

Isvara, S : Overlord, a Supreme Personal God. God in the general 
Christian sense. 

Jaina, P, S : a follower of Mahavlra, the Jina or Conqueror. 

Tataka, P, S : a birth-story, the history of some episode in the former life 
of the Buddha. 

Thana (dhyana) : meditation, the mental exercise so called, in particular 
the Four Ecstasies. 

Tiva,Jivatman, S : the Supreme Atman as particularized in the individual. 

Jnana, S : wisdom, the intellectual. 

Tnana marga, S : the intellectual way, means of salvation by knowledge. 

Kama,) P, S : love, lust. 

Kama-loka, P, S : the Six Heavens of the Lesser Gods, and the Five 
Lower Worlds. 

Kamma {karma) : deeds, character, causality. 

Karma marga, S : the way of deeds, the means of salvation by dis- 
interested activity. 

Karuna (karma) : compassion, the bestowing virtue — the leading passion 
in a Bodhisattva. 

Khandha (skandha): 'aggregate,' the compound factors of con- 
sciousness. 

Klesa, S : sin, prejudice. 

Llla, S : 'play,' the ' wonderful works of the Lord,' manifestation. 

Madhyamika, S, : a division of the Mahayana, mainly dependent on 
Nagarjuna. 

Magga (marga) : way, path. 

Mahayana, S : the ' Great Vessel,' the doctrines of the Mahayanists, so- 
called by themselves. The Mahayana is set forth in the Sanskrit 
Buddhist texts. Sometimes referred to, but not accurately, as 
Northern Buddhism. 

Mana, P, S : pride, conceit, any intrusion oft the ego. 

Manas, P, S : mind, soul ; ego. 

Maya, S : illusion, the power of creation or manifestation. 

Metta (maitri) : friendliness, goodwill, loving-kindness. 

z 353 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 

Moha, P : infatuation, delusion, prejudice, folly, sentimentality. 

Muditd, P : sympathy, one of the Four Sublime Moods. 

Mudrd, S : seal. Position of the fingers, hieratic gesture. 

Ndga, P, S : a being having the dual character of man and serpent. 
Also an elephant, a wise man. 

Ndgini, P, S : feminine of Naga. 

Ndma-rupa, P, S : lit. name and form, which alone constitute an aggre- 
gate into a seeming personality or unit. Psychologically, 'an 
embodiment ' without the idea of anything embodied : mind and 
body, or mind and matter. For rupa in other, senses, s.v. 

Nibbdna (nirvana) : ethically, the dying out of lust, resentment, and 
illusion : psychologically, release from individuality. The Recog- 
nition of Truth. A state of salvation to be realized here and 
now; those who attain, are released from becoming, and after 
death return no more. Nibbdna does not imply the ' annihilation 
of the soul,' for Buddhism teaches that no such entity as a soul has 
ever existed. Nibbdna is one of many names for the summum 
bonum ; it may be best translated as Abyss, Stillness, Void, or 
Nothing (not-thing-ness). 

Nirguna, S : unconditioned, unqualified, in no wise. 

Nirmdnakdya, S : magical body, apparition, body of transformation, the 
earthly aspect of a Buddha. 

Nishkdma, S : disinterested. 

Nivritti mdrga, S : the Path of Return. 

Pacceka Buddha, P : one who attains enlightenment, but does not teach ; 
a 'private Buddha.' 

Panna, P : wisdom, reason, insight. 

Paiina-cakkhu, P : Eye of insight or wisdom. 

Para vidyd, S : absolute truth, esoteric truth. 

Paramdrtha satya, S : absolute truth. 

Pdramitd, S : transcendental perfection, especially the perfected virtue 
of a Bodhisattva. 

Paribdjaka, P : a ' Wanderer,' a peripatetic hermit. 

Parinibbdna (parinirvdna) : 'full Nibbana,' (i) identical with Nibbdna, 
Arahatta, Vimutti, Anna, etc., (2) death of a human being who has 
previously realized Nibbdna, death of an Arahat-. also simply 
' dissolution.' 

Paticca-samupdda, P : dependent origination, causality. 

Prajnd, S : reason, understanding. 

354 



Glossary 



Prajnd-pdramitd, S : supreme reason. Also personified as the ' Mother 

of the Buddhas,' Tathdgata-garbha. Cf. Persian *AqL Regarded 

as the way out, she is the principle of analysis ; as the way in, the 

principle of synthesis. 
Prakriti, S : Nature, the corporeal world. 

Pranidhdna, S : vow, self-dedication, firm persuasion, of a Bodhisattva. 
Pravritti mdrga, S : the Path of Pursuit. 
Pufina (punya) : merit, good character. 
Pur us ha, S : c Male,' a personification of the Brahman or Atman 

(Vedanta) : an individual soul (Samkhya). Antithetic to Prakriti, 

1 spirit ' as opposed to ■ matter.' 
Pdga, P, S : lust, passion, desire. 
Rakshasa, S : a man devouring demon. 
Pupa, P, S : form, shape. In a categorical sense, quality. See also 

Ndmarupa. 
Rupa-lokas, P, S : the Sixteen Heavens conditioned by form, next 

the below Ariipa-lokas. 
Saguna, S : conditioned, qualified. 
Samddhi, P, S : tranquillity, self-concentration, calm, rapture. A state 

attained in Jhana, and then equivalent to the transcending of 

empirical consciousness : also the state of calm which is always 

characteristic of the Arahrat. 
Samana, P : wandering friar. The Buddha is often referred to as ' The 

Great Samana.' 
Sambhogakdya, S : ' Enjoyment-body,' the heavenly aspect of a Buddha. 
Samkhya, S : c School of the Count,' a pre-Buddhist philosophy, so-called 

as ' reckoning-up ' the twenty-five categories. 
Samsdra, P, S : Becoming, conditioned existence, birth-and-death, 

eternal recurrence, mortality, corporeal existence, the vegetative 

world. 
Samvritti safya, S : relative truth. 
Sangha, P, S : the Order, the company or congregation of monks and 

nuns. 
{Sankhdra) Samskdra : i conformation,' impression of previous deeds, 

constituents of character. 
Saniia, P : perception. 

Sarraguna, S : in all wise, having all possible qualities. 
Sati, P : recollectedness, conscience. 
Sila, P : conduct, morality. 

355 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 

Sufi : a Persian mystic. 

SuMa, P, S : good, pleasure, happiness, weal. 

Sukhavati: the Western Paradise of Amitabha, the highest heaven, 

the ' Buddha field ' where souls are ripened for Nirvana. 
Sutta (sutra) : 'thread.' A literary form, in Buddhist scriptures, 

words of the Buddha ' strung together ' as a sermon or dialogue ; 

in Hindu scriptures, a connected series of aphorisms. 
Svabhava, S : ' own-nature.' The self-existent, the source of spontaneity ; 

a term analogous to ' I am that I am,' applied to the Supreme 

Buddha (Adi-Buddha of the later Mahayana). 
Sva-dharma, S: 'own norm,' peculiar duty of the . individual or social 

group. 
Tanha (trishna) : desire, coveting, craving, an eager wish to obtain or 

enjoy, interested motive. In this sense Buddhism teaches the 

extinction of desire (in Hinduism, 'renunciation of the fruits of 

works '), but Tanha does not cover aspiration or good intention, 

which are included in the ' Right Desire ' of the Eightfold Path. 
Tao : the absolutist philosophy of the Chinese philosopher Laotse. 

The term Tao has a connotation similar to that of Nirvana and 

Brahman. 
Tapas, S : burning, glow, toil, torture. 

Tara : the feminine counterpart of a Bodhisattva, a saviouress. 
Tathagata^ S : Thus-gone or Thus-come, He-who-has-thus-attained, a 

term used by the Buddha in speaking of himself. 
Tathagata-garbha^ S : ' Womb - of- Those - who - have - thus - come.' The 

Dharma-kaya, or Suchness, as viewed from the standpoint of the 

relative and regarded as the origin of all things ; mother of the 

Buddhas and all sentient beings; Nature as potential matter, 

Maya, Prakriti ; Prajnaparamita. 
Tattva, bhutatathata^ S : Suchness, Ground, Substrate, the inevitability 

and universality of things, the source of spontaneity. The quality 

of infinity in every particular, of the whole in the part. 
Tavatimsa : Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, one of the Six Lower 

Heavens. 
Thera,¥ : an elder ; amongst the Brethren, an Arahat. 
Theravada, P : 'word of the elders.' By this term the early Buddhists 

distinguish their belief from that of the Mahayanists. The 

Theravada texts constitute the Pali canon. 
Theri) P : feminine of Thera. 

356 



Glossary 



Thupa (stupa) : a memorial mound, generally enshrining relics. 

Tri-kaya, S : the Three Bodies, or modes, of a Buddha (Mahayana), viz. 
Z)harma&aya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya, q.v. 

Tri-ratna, S, the 'Three Jewels.' In the Hinayana, the Buddha, the 
Dhamma, and the Sangha ; in the Mahayana, the Buddhas, the 
Sons of the Buddhas, and the Dharmakaya. 

Tusita, S : Heaven of Pleasure, one of the Six Lower Heavens. 

Upadhi {upadhi) : attributes, superimposed by the mind upon the un- 
conditioned : individualizing determinations. 

Upanishad, S : books of the later Veda, partly pre-Buddhist, where are 
found the leading texts of the Vedanta or Brahmanical absolutist 
philosophy to which Buddhism is nominally opposed. 

Upaya, P : means, accommodation. 

Upekha, P : impartiality, same-sightedness, one of the Four Sublime 
Moods. 

Vanaprastha, S : a forest-dwelling hermit. 

Varna, S : ' colour,' complexion. Combined with hereditary occupation, 
and the recognition of special social forms, ' colour ' becomes 
caste, which was in process of development in the time of 
Gautama. 

Vedana, P : feeling. 

Vinnana (vijnand) : consciousness, mental activity. 

Vimutti, Vimokha (moksha) : salvation, release, the summum bonum. 

Vimutto : saved, released. 

Vinaya, P : Rules of the Buddhist Order. 

\akkha {yaksha) : a nature spirit. 

Yogacara, S : a division of the Mahayana, mainly dependent on Asanga. 



357 



INDEX 



a Kempis, Thomas, 320 

Abhidhamma Pitaka, 36, 295, 296 

Achelas, 152 

Adibuddha, 239, 249 

Afghanistan, 185 

Ahamkdra, 195 

Ajanta, 311, 333, 335, 336, 337, 339 

Ajanta Frescoes, 340 

Ajatasattu, 64, 68, 71, 72, 89, 266 

Ajlvikas, 152, 156, 158, 186 

Akshobya, 249 

Al-Hujwiri, 244 

Alakappa, 89 

Alamkara, 309 

Alara Kalama, 28, 29, 38, 79, 80, 

198, 199 
Alavi, 59 

Alaya-vijnana, 252, 310 
Amaravati, 224, 327-329 
Amida, 247 
Amidism, 247 

Amitabha, 247-249, 253, 317 
Ampaball, 74, 75, 164, 285 
Ampabali's * Psalm,' 74 
Amoghasiddha, 249 
Ananda, 14, 18, 50, 54, 55, 67-69, 

72, 76-87, 98, 104, 108, 124, 
_i50, 160-162, 269 
Ananda, 104 
Ananda, Psalm of, 108 
Anathapindika, 51, 52, 60, 62, 263, 

271 
Anattd, 91, 98, 105, 140, 173, 174, 

188, 198, 199, 205, 217, 219, 287, 

296 
A ncient Mariner, The, 313 
Anga, 60 
Angulimala, 60 
Anguttara Nikaya, 100, 119, 158, 

212, 265, 272 



Anicca, 91, 93-98, 105, 173, 175 

Ankoin, 340 

Anoma, 25 

Anotatta lake, 1 3 

Antahkarana, 189, 195 

Anula, Princess, 185 

Anupiya, 27, 50 

Anuradhapura, 133, 134, 185, 297, 

299, 328 
Anuruddha, 50, 58, 60, 87, 99, 

117. 151 
Apaddna, 265 
Arahat, 12, 15, 31, 39, 41, 72, 73, 

85, 87, 102, 103, 116-118, 120- 

122, 140, 178, 212, 227-230 
Arahatta, 42, 43, 45, 48, 53, 55, 

56, 60, 68, 83, 86, 116-118, 123, 

1.51, 153, 161, 165, 205, 223, 229 
Ariyas, 165, 168 
Ariyasaccdni, see Four Ariyan 

Truths 
Arnold, Sir Edwin, 11, 302 
Art, 140 

Art of the Theatre, The, 177 
A rupa Jhanas, 1 1 1 
Arupa-loka, in, 147 
Aruparaga, 103 
Aryadeva, 319 
Aryasura, 310-316 
Asanga, 251, 252, 310, 320 
Ashtasahasrika - prajndparamita, 

316 
Asadha, 25 
Asia, 184 
Asoka Maurya, 154, 156, 157, 

182-186, 216, 220, 222, 260, 

262, 298, 299, 314, 325 
Asoka, Edicts of, 130, 138, 153, 

156, 158, 259, 261, 262, 274 
Assaji, 44, 45 
Asvaghosha, 146, 243, 245, 270, 

303-310. 3i6, 319 

359 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 



Asubha-bhavana, 144, 171 
Atman, the, 28, 29, 187-189, 192, 

194, 198-203, 205, 206, 209, 

215, 217-219 
Atta, 199 
Atuma, 80 
Aung, S. Z., 99, 140 
Avadanas, 309, 314 
Avalokitesvara, 247-249, 253, 317, 

33L 336> 342 
Avatamsaka Sutra, 229, 246 
Avidya, 210 
Avijja, 97, 103 
Avijja dsava, 103 
Avyakala Samyutta, 223 
A wakening of Faith, The, 245 



B 



Balajalonakara, 58 
Balfour, G. W„ 108 
Bambu-grove Monastery, 44, 62, 

68 ; see also Veluvana 
Barnett, L. D., 236 
Beal, 156, 181 
Becoming, Law of, no, 117, 120, 

208, 209, 211, 222, 226 
Behmen, 120, 125, 146, 226, 241, 

246, 248, 317 
Bell, Clive, 140, 330 
Beluva, 75 
Benares, 30, 38, 46, 186, 263, 

333 
Bengal, 335, 336 
Beyond Good and Evil, 1 74 
Bhaddiva, 50 
Bhadda, 163 
Bhagavad Gita, 104, 105, 143, 149, 

204, 212, 218, 224, 251, 323, 327 
Bhakta-kalpadruma, 157 
Bhakti Yoga, 212 
Bharadvaja, 59 
Bharhut, 62, 325, 333 
Bhava, 97 

360 



Bhava dsava, 103 
Bhikkunisamyutla, 270 
Bhikkhus, 6g, 152, 154, 155, 331 
Bihar, 62 
Bimbisara, 27, 43, 56, 57, 62, 68, 

265 
Binyon, 341, 343 
Black Snake King, whirlpool of 

the, 32 
Blake, Wm., 235, 245, 255, 345 
Bodhi, 239 

Bodhicary avatar a, 236, 320 
Bodhi-citta, 141 
Bodhidharma, 253 
Bodhisatta (Bodhisattva), 225, 

227, 229-231, 233-235, 237 
Bodhi tree, 14, 180, 185 
Bohd Gaya, 297 
Borobodur, 302, 326, 336 
Bo-tree, 185 
Brahma, 29, 58, 93, 112, 114, 151, 

199, 205, 237, 241 
Brahma-lokas, in 
Brahman, 28, 29, 187, 187-194, 

199-202, 209, 210, 252, 254 
Brahman, 89, 199, 214, 278 
Brahmanism, 112, 198-221 
Brahma Sutra, 209 
' Brazen Palace ' monastery, 300 
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 160, 

187, 188, 190, 200, 201, 203, 

209, 210, 213, 216, 218 
Buddha, 60, 90, 212 
Buddha-carita, 146, 303, 304, 309 
Buddhaghosha, 86, 100, 101, 106, 

152, 204, 274, 297, 298 
Buddhavamsa, 265, 295 
Buddhism, 198-221 
Buddhism, 199, 204, 237 
Buddhism in Translations, 43, 163, 

172 
Buddhist China, 158, 237, 254, 

255. 342 
Buddhist Psychology, 113, 203 
Buddhist Review, 140 



Index 



Bulis, 89 

Burma, 129, 153, 
298, 333> 336 



154, 222, 297, 



Cambodia, 333, 336 
Cambridge Magazine, 182 
Canda-kinnara Jataka, 49 
Candana, 284 
Cande Uda, 134 
Canudo, Riciotto, 324 
Capala, 77 

Cariyapitaka, 265, 295 
Cetana, 97, 100 

Ceylon, 133, 134, 153, 154, 184, 
185, 222, 259, 261, 297, 298, 

301, 335 
Chaddanta, 290-293, 334 
Chaddanta Jataka, 289-293, 334 
Ch'an, 252-258 
Chandogya Upanishad, 117, 187, 

200, 201, 209 
Channa, 14, 19, 24-27, 326 
Chidambara Swami, 241 
China, 166, 222, 253, 254, 333, 

338, 341-343. 345 
Christianity, Docetic heresy of, 

123 
Chuang Tzu, 33, 38, 178, 267 
Cinca, 58 
Citta Gutta, 170 
Cologne, 342 

Commandments, Ten, 130, 153 
Commentary on the Bhagavata 

Pur ana, 230 
Compendium of Philosophy, 99, 117 
Concepts of Monism, 199 
Confucius, 159 
Constantine, 185 
Contemplation upon Flowers, 257 
Convenient means, Doctrine of, 

159, 250-252 
Craig, Gordon, 177 



Cromwell, Oliver, 130, 185 
Cullasubhadda, 290, 291 
Cullavagga, 90, 262, 263 
Cunda, 78-81 
Cyrene, 184 



Dasa Dhammika Sutta, 324 
Davids, C. A. F. Rhys, 10 1, 113, 

119, 120, 127, 138, 149, 165, 

167, 170, 199, 203-205, 227, 

284, 287 
Davids, T. W. Rhys, 40, 77, 96, 

100, 109, 114, 152, 167, 199- 

201, 204, 205, 227, 237, 276, 287 
Dependent Origination, Law of, 96 
Deussen, 179, 201, 204 
Devadaha, 14 
Devadatta, 18, 32, 51, 68-71, 126, 

152, 180, 263 
Devi, 240, 241 
Dhamma, 90, 94, no, 127, 130, 

158, 179, 181-184, 206, 223, 224 
Dhamma-cakkhu, 267 
Dhammadinna, 163 
Dhammapada, 92, 122, 126, 178, 

182, 265, 279, 281 
Dhammapala Jataka, 48 
Dhamma-Sangam, 148 
Dharana, 196 

Dharmakaya, 159, 237-240, 246 
Dharmaraja, 308 
Dhibba-cakkhu, 267 
Dhyana, 196 
Dialogues of the Buddha, 114, 152, 

199, 204, 205, 227, 276 
Digha Nikaya, 265, 270 
Dipankara Buddha, 12 
Dipavamsa, 298, 299 
Ditthi, 103 

Divyavadana, 314, 337 
Docetic heresy, 123, 250 
Dona, 89 



361 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 



Dukkha, 90-92, 96, 105, 120, 177, 

178, 182, 211, 287 
Duns Scotus, 240 
Dutthagamani, 150, 299 
Dying Out, 122, 181 



Early Buddhism, 40, 109, 200, 201 

Egypt, 184 

Eight Stations of Deliverance, 

118, 124 
Eightfold Path, the Ariyan, 10, 

37, 39, 40, 84, 85, 91, 263 
Elara, 299, 300 
Elephanta, 336 
Ellora, 336 
Emerson, R. W\, 121 
Epirus, 184 
Eternal Life, 1 1 5 
1 Eternity, Religion of,' 128 
Ethics, 126-137 
Euphrates, 260 
Evening Chime of the Distant 

Temple, 343 



Fa Hien, 186 

Fand, 115, 119 

Fand-al-fand, 119 

Faust, in 

Feltham, 141 

First Cause, no 

First Path, the, 40, 44, 45, 48, 55, 

56, 70, 101, 102, 149, 293 
Five Aggregates, 99, 10 1 
Five Wanderers {or Disciples), 30, 

38, 39, 4i 
Forty Questions, The, 246 
Foucher, M., 328 
Foul Things, Meditation on, 144, 

172, 234 

362 



Four Arupa Jhanas, 112, 118 
Four Ariyan Truths, or Four 

Noble Truths, 10, 44, 90, 101, 

102, 177, 263 
Four Cardinal Sins, 153 
Four Floods, 103 
Four Great Kings, 22, 37, in 
Four Guardians of the Quarters, 13, 

22 ; see also Four Great Kings 
Four Jhanas, 112, 114 
Four Meditations, 144 
Four Paths, 10 1 
Four Signs, 16, 19 
Four Sublime Moods, 114, 142, 

143, 145, 268 
Four Varnas, 217 
Fourth Path, the, 53, 55, 102, 103 
Francis of Assisi, 159 
' Free-in-both-ways,' 124 
Freer, C. L., 342 



Gamani, 299 

Gandhara, 329, 330, 333, 335, 338 

Gargi, 213 

Gaudapada, 192 

Gautama, 249 

Gautami, the Matron, 16, 22, 49, 

53-55 
Gaya Scarp, 42, 70 
Geiger, Professor, 299 
Ghositarama, 58 
Goethe, in 
Goloubew, M., 342 
Gopika, 164 
Gotamakas, 152 
Gotami, the Slender, 148, 251, 

270 ; see also Kisa Gotami 
Great Renunciation, 19, 24, 216 
1 Great Thupa,' 300 
Greece, 341 

Grove of Gladness, the, 1 3 
Gupta period, 332, 333 



Index 



H 



Haeckel, 220 

Hall, Fielding, 153, 154 

Hanuman, 201 

Havell, 337 

Hearn, Lafcadio, 108, 137, 249, 

317 
Heaven of Delight, 1 3 
Heaven of Ideal Form, 147 
Heaven of No-form, 147 
Heavens, Brahma, 145, 147 
Heavens, Buddhist, 110-115, 118, 

147 
Hermite, 113 
Hibbert Journal, 108 
Himalayas, 13, 290, 291 
Hinayana Buddhism, 151, 185, 

222, 226-228, 232, 236, 237, 

259> 316, 318, 324 
Hinduism, 175, 226 
Hiouen Tsang, 1 56 
Hiranyavati, R., 81 
Hitopadesa, 281 
Hoey, W., 60 
Homer, 308 
Honan, 339, 341 
Horiuji, 340 
Hiien Sha, 255 



Imitation of Christ, 320 

India, 157, 174, 184, 185, 259, 

339, 345 
Indian Sculpture and Painting, 

337 
Indra, 112, 201 
Indra, heaven of, 25 
Indriyas, 189 
Intoxications, the, 74 
Isa Upanishad, 209 
Jsipatana, 30, 38 



' Islam,' 140 

Isvara, 196, 197, 238, 247 
Itivuttaka, 265, 281 
I-tsing, 303, 310 



Jainas, the, 11, 52, 57, 156, 236 

Jali, 295 

Jambu-tree, miracle of the, 16, 29, 

30, 47 
Jamuna, R., 309 
Janaka, 198, 212 
Janapada Kalyani, 49 
Japan, 135-137, 166, 253, 333, 

34i, 343 
Japan, 137 

Japan Daily Mail, 1 34 
Jaramaranam, 97 
Jalaka, 265 

Jdtahamald, 126, 131, 310 
Jatakas, the, 159, 225, 287-289, 

314, 337 
Jdtakavannana, 287 
Jdti, 97 

Java, 333, 336, 337 
Jayadeva, 283 
Jesus, 115, 126, 138, 159, 181, 215, 

238, 251, 274 ; also Christ, 214, 

243, 250, 253, 332 
Jetavana Grove or Monastery, 51, 

58, 59. 63, 70 
Jhanas, the, 112, 114, 146, 147 
JIvaka, 64, 71 
J nana Marga, 211 
J nana Yoga, 212 
Johnston, R. F., 158, 237, 254, 

255, 342 



K 



Kabir, 113, 245, 254 
Kaivalya Upanishad, 190 



363 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 



Kakusandha, 249 

Kakuttha, R., 80 

Kala Devala, 15, 29, 47 

Kali, 241 

Kalidasa, 283, 303 

Kalika, 241 

Kalinga, 182, 183, 294 

Kaludayi, 14 

Kaludayin, 46 

Kama, 103 

Kama asava, 103 

Kama-lokas, in, 267 

Kama-vacara deva-lokas, 1 1 1 

Kamma, 107, 108, 122 

Kandula, 299 

Kanhajina, 295 

Kanishka, 328 

Kanthaka, 14, 24-27, 326 

Kapila, 194 

Kapilavatthu, 9, 13, 14, 17, 19, 

22, 26, 29, 32, 46, 47, 50, 53, 

59, 72, 89, 126, 180, 194 
Karandavyuha, 317 
Karma, see Kamma 
Karma Yoga, 212 
Karuna, 142, 143 
Kashf al-Mahjub, 244 
Kassapa, 42-44, 88, 105, 249, 269, 

270 
Kassapa-gotta, 298 
Kathaka Upanishad, 203 
Kausambi, 58, 59 
Keats, John, 113 
Khaggavisdna Sutta, 171 
Khandaka, 262 
Khandhas, 100 
Khema, 56, 163, 223 
Khuddaka Nikaya, 265, 275, 279, 

282, 295 
Khuddakapatha, 158, 265 
Kimbila, 50, 58 
King, Henry, 257 
Kinso, 256 
Kisa Gotami, 23, 163, 271, 272 ; 

see also Gotami the Slender 



Knox, 134 

Koliyas, 52, 89 

Konagammana, 249 

Kondafina, 15, 16, 29, 38, 40 

Korea, 339 

Kosala, 52, 62, 71, 163, 223, 259 

Kosalas, 9, 72 

Krishna, 236 

Krishna Lila, 236 

Krishna, Sri, 149 

Kshattriyas, 199, 214, 217, 278 

Kulavaka Jataka, 162 

Kumarajiva, 319 

Kunala, 314, 315 

Kuroda, S., 233 

Kurral, 254 

Kusinara, 79, 84, 87-89 

Kiitagara Hall, 52, 54, 78 

Kwannon, see Kwanyin 

Kwanyin (Kwannon), 249, 342 

Kyoto, 342 



Lalitavistara, 11, 302, 303, 316, 

337 
Lanka, 300 
Laos, 336 
Laotze, 159 

Licchavis, 74, 75, 89, 164 
Light of Asia, The, 11, 302 
Linga-sarira, 109 
Lokottaravadins, 302 
Longmen, 339, 341 
L'Origine grecque de VImage du 

Bouddha, 328 
Loyang, 254, 341 



M 

Macedonia, 184 

Maddi, 294 

Mddhyamika sutras, 243, 319 



364 



Index 



Mddhyamika Sastra, 245 
Madhyamikas, 252, 319 
Magadha, 27, 44, 62, 64, 68, 182, 

217, 266, 336 
Magadhi, 259 
Magadhi canon, 302 
Magdalene, the, 74 
Magga, 90 
Magna, 162 
Maha Brahma, 32, 38 
Maha Maya, 9, 13, 14, 16, 57, 

241 
Maha Ndrada Kassapa Jataka, 

44 
Maha Niddna Sutta, 118, 124 
Maha Parinibbdna Sutta, 11, 118, 

269, 277 
Maha Satthipatthdna Sutta, 277 
Mahdbhdrata, 281, 310 
Mahajapati, 9 
Mahanama, 299 
Mahdpaddna Sutta, 225, 278 
Mahasubhaddha, 290, 291 
Mahasudarsa, 305 
Mahdvagga, 43, 156, 262, 263 
Mahdvamsa, 150, 262, 298, 299, 

301, 304 
Mahdvastu, 302 
Mahayana, 10, 125, 159, 175, 215, 

220, 222-241, 244, 245, 247- 

249, 251-253, 259, 301-303, 

310, 316, 319, 345 
Mahay ana- sraddha-utpada, 310 
Mahavlra, 152, 156, 217, 236 
Mahendra, 185 
Mahesvara, 241 
Maitreya, 336 
Majjhima, 298 
Majjhima Nikdya, 91, 94, 96, 121, 

166, 224, 265, 270 
Malagiri, 69, 70 
Mallas, 81, 84, 87-89 
Mallians, 80 

Malunkyaputta, 120, 121 
Mamallapuram, 336 



Manas, 189 

Mdnava Dharma-sdstra, 214 

Mangala Sutta, 279 

Manjusrl, 249, 331, 337, 341 

Mdno, 103 

Manu, 216, 218, 310 

Mara, daughters of, 34-36 

Mara the Fiend, 25, 32-35, 93, 

270-272 
Mdrasamyufta, 270 
Mdrkandeya Purdna, 218 
Matsunaga Teitoku, 256, 257 
Mathura, 333 
Maya, see Maha Maya 
Maya, Doctrine of, 208-210 
Mean, Doctrine of, 94, 209, 210 
Meru, Mount, 21 
Metta, 142, 143 
Metta Sutta, 102 
Metteya, 112, 225, 249 
Migara, mother of, 52 
* Middle Path of Eight Noes,' 242 
Milinda Panha, 116, 225, 296 
Millet, Jean Francois, 344 
Mogallana, 43-45, 57, 67, 70, 84 
Mohammad, 157, 159 
Moksha, 115 
Moore, G. E., 140 
Moriyas, 89 
Morris, Wm., 267 
Mucalinda, 37, 325 
Mudita, 142, 143, 173 
Miinsterberg, Prof. O., 333 
Music as a Religion of the Future, 

324 



N 



Nagarjuna, 242, 243-245, 250- 

252, 319, 340 

Nagasena, 296, 297 
Nagita, Brother, 158 
Nairanjana, 29 



365 



Buddha &* the Gospel of Buddhism 



Nalaka, 15 

Nalanda, 73 

Nama-rupa, 97, 99, 100 

Nanda, 54 

Nandabala, 309 

Nandiya, 58 

Nara, 340 

Nausicaa, 308 

Nepal, 222, 335, 336 

Nibbana, 12, 23, 36, 37, 41, 43, 

53> 73> 85, 103, no, 113, 115- 

125, 127, 140, 145, 147, 180, 

208, 222, 223 
Nidanakathd, 1 1 
Niddesa, 265 
Nietzsche, 77, 92, 93, 144, 174, 

176, 177, 179, 221, 229, 261 
Nigantha Nataputta, 57, 84 
Niganthas, 152, 156 
Nigrodha-tree, 31 
Nikayas, 199 
Nimmana-rati, 11 1 
Nirmdnakaya, 238, 246, 249, 250 
Nirodha, 90 
Nirvana, 39, 125, 161, 209, 210, 

239, 241, 244, 248, 321 ; see 

also Nibbana 
Nirvana T antra, 241 
No-form, heaven of , 15, 147 
Norm, the Buddhist, 37, 71, 94, 

127, 269 



Okakura, 340 

Oldenberg, 60, 90, 127, 160, 163, 

211, 264, 273, 276, 279, 314 
Orissa, 37, 182 
Oudh, 9 
Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism, 

159 
Outlines of the Mahayana Philo- 
sophy, 233 

366 



Pacceka-Buddhas, 230 
Pacittiya, 262 
Padmapani, 249 

Painting in the Far East, 341 

Pali canon, the, 10, 158, 262-289, 

302 
Pali, 222, 223, 259, 261 

Pali Jatakas, 11, 260 
Pali Suttas, 333 

Para, 78 

Parajika, 262 

Paramartha, 246, 252 

Paramitas, 289 

Paranimitta-vasavatti, 1 1 1 

Paratantra satya, 252 

Paribbdjakas, 151, 152 ; see also 
Wanderers 

Parikalpita satya, 252 

Parileyyaka, 58 

Parinibbana, 122 

Parispanna satya, 252 

Parivara, 262 

Parthia, 338 

Parvati, 241 

Pasenadi, 223 

Patacara, 149, 163 

Pataliputra, 186 

Paticca-samupada, 96 

Patigha, 103 

Patisambhidamagga, 265 

Patna, 186 

Pava, 88 

Payasi Sutta, 105, m 

Perfect Enlightenment, 35, 122 

Petavatthu, 265 

Petrucci, R., 257 

Philosophical Letters upon Dog- 
matism and Criticism, 197 

Philosophic de la Nature dans 
I' Art d' Extreme Orient, La, 2.^7 

Philosophy of the Upanishads, The, 
179, 204 , 



Index 



56 



Phusati, 294 

Pindola-Bharad va, j a 

Pippalivana, 89 

Pitakas, 204, 262 

Planes of Desire, in, 112 

Planes of Form, in, 112 

Planes of No-form, in, 112, 113 

Planes of Sensuous Desire, 1 1 1 

Plato, 260 

Poincare, M., 113 

Potthapada, 152 

Prajha, 239, 240 

Prajnaparamita, 239, 240, 249, 337 

Prajhdpdramitds, 242, 318 

Prakriti, 194, 240, 241 

PranidMna, 321 

Prasenajit, 57 

Pratapa Simha, 157 

Principia Ethica, 140 

Psalms of the Brethren, 119, 120, 

158, 167, 168, 172, 176, 228, 

283, 284 
Psalms of the Sisters, 1 19, 138, 149, 

165, 176, 283, 284 
Pubbarama, 52 
Pukkusa, 79, 80 
Punna, 31 

Punnavaddhana, 52 
Puranas, 218 
Purusha, 194-196, 231 
Puto, 255 



Q 



Queen Mallika's Park, 152 
Questions of King Milinda, 296, 
297 



R 



' Raft, the Great,' 222, 226 
' Raft, the Little,' 222 
Raga, 34 



Rahula, 9, 14, 22, 24, 50, 54, 

263 
Rahula, the mother of, see Yasod- 

hara 
Rajagaha, 27, 29, 43-46, 50, 51, 

56, 59, 62, 64, 73 
Rajgir, 62 

Rakkhita, Grove, 58 
Rama, 167, 216 
Ramagama, 89 
Rdmdnuja, 187, 206, 209 
Rdmdyana, 167, 289 
Rapti, R., 9, 62 
Rapture, stages of, 86 
Ratana Sutta, 103 
Rati, 34 
Ratnapani, 249 
Ratnasambhava, 249 
Resolves, 141 
Revata, 297 
Rig Veda, 209, 283 
Rohini, R., 52 

Romantic History of Buddha, 181 
Rothenstein, W., 340 
Rupa-loka, in, 147, 267 
Rupardga, 103 
Ruru-deer, 31 1-3 13 
Ruysbroeck, 235 



Sadayatana, 97 
Saddharmapundarlka, 159, 231, 

316 
Sagund, 252 
Sahet Maheth, 62 
Saivas, 251 
Sakka, 22, 32, 37, 57, 58, in, 112, 

151, 162, 164, 237, 295 
Sakkdya-ditthi, 103 
Sakti, 240, 241 
Sakyamuni, 316 
Sakyas, 9, 17, 18, 22, 32, 46, 47, 

50, 52, 72, 89, 180, 181 



367 



Buddha & the Gospel of Buddhism 



Sakyasinha, 236 
Samadhi, 147, 148, 196, 330 
Samddhikdya, 239 
Samanna-phala Sutta, 218, 277 
Samantabhadra, 249, 341 
Sambhogakdya, 238, 246, 249, 252 
Samkhya system, 119, 187, 194- 

196, 231, 232 
Samsara, 93, 106, 148, 196, 209, 

244, 254 
Samudaya, 90 
Samvritti, 246, 252 
Samyutta Nikdya, 98, 118, 119, 

148, 208, 265, 270, 277 
Sanchi, 224, 325, 326, 333, 337 
Sangha, 127, 141, 151, 158, 224, 

283 
Sanghamitta, 185 
Sanjaya, 57, 84 

Sankara, 104, 201, 206, 207, 211 
Sankaracarya, 187, 243 
Sankhdra, 97, 99, 100 
Sankissa, 58 
Sahhd, 99, 100 
Sanskrit, 259, 301-303, 310 
Sariputta, 44, 45, 50, 57, 67, 70, 

84, 119, 227 
Sarnath, 186 

Saundarananda Kdvya, 309 
Savatthi, 51, 52, 56-60, 62, 163, 

271, 290 
Schelling, 113, 197 
Schopenhauer, 157, 165 
Sea of Existence, 12 
Second Path, 48, 55, 102 
' Sermon of the Inanimate,' 255 
Service Tenures Commission Re- 
port, 154 
Seven Connatal Ones, 14 
Sex and Character, 166 
Shanti Deva, 140, 236, 320-323 
Shao Lin monastery, 254 
Shikshasamuccaya, 140, 320 
Siam, 297, 336 
Sigdlavadd Sutta, 131, 269 

368 



Siha, 156 

Silabbata pdramdsa, 103 

Silver Hill, 13 

Sinha, P. N., 230 

Sinhalese, 185 

Siva, 247, 251, 267 

Sivaka, 283 

Sivi, 294 

Six Perfections, 242, 318 

Smith, Vincent, 130 

Socrates, 159, 172 

Sonuttara, 292 

Sophocles, 332 

Soul of a People, The, 154 

Spassa, 97 

Speyer, 310 

Sravakas, 230 

Stupa of Bharhut, the, 62 

Subhadda, 84, 85 

Subhadda (wife of K. of Benares), 

292 
Subhuti, 242, 317, 318 
Suddhodana, 9, 10, 13, 17, 18, 20, 

29, 32, 45, 49, 50, 53, 54, 116, 

212 
Sudra, 214, 218, 278 
Sufi, 115, 119, 140 
Sujata, 30, 31, 36, 37 
Sukha, 178 
Sukhavati, 247 
Sukhdvativyuha, 317 
Sumedha, 11, 12, 225, 288 
Sundari-Nanda, 287 
Sunya, 239 
Sunyata, 318 

Supersensual Life, The, 246 
Suprabuddha, 17, 18, 59 
Sutra, 64 
Sutrdlamkdra, 309 
Sutta-nipdta, 121, 265, 282 
Suttavibhanga, 262 
Sutta Pitaka, 265 
Suttas, the, in, 273 
Suzuki, T., 159, 245 
Svabhavakdya, 239 



Index 



Svetasvatara Upanishad, 208 

Syria, 184 

System of the Veddnta, 201 



Tagore, 120 

Tailtiriya Upanishad, 200 

Tamils, 185 

Tang epoch, 341-343 

Tanha, 34 

Tanha, 97, 100, 120 

Tantra Tattva, 241 

Tao, 115 

Tathagata, 39, 77, 78, 82-84, 86, 
94, 159, 161, 162, 242, 250, 275, 
3*7, 3i8 

Tathdgata-garbha, 239, 240, 310 

Tatong, 338, 342 

Tattva, 239 

Tauler, 322 

Tdvatimsa, 11 1 

Tayamanavar, 241 

Ten Commandments or Prohibi- 
tions, 130, 153 

Ten Fetters, 103 

Ten Perfections, The, 12, 33 

Teu Tse, 255 

Tevijja Sutta, 113, 131, 205, 268 

Theragdthd, 265 

Theraputtabhaya, 300, 301 

Thera-theri-gathd, 119, 283, 284 

Theravada Dhamma, 175, 221, 259 

Therigdtha, 265 

Third Path, the, 48, 50, 55, 102 

Thirty-three Devas, 22 

Thirty-three Gods, heaven of the, 
15, 16, 27, 57, in 

Three Floods, 103 

Three Gems or Three Jewels, 71, 
224 

Three Pitakas, 262] 

Three Refuges, 257; sse also 
Three Gems] 



Ti-tsang, 249 
Tofukuji, 342 
Torio, Viscount, 134 
Tree of Wisdom, the, 32, 35, 36 
Trikaya, 238 
Tusita, in 

Twelve Nidanas, 96 ; see Wheel 
of Causation 



U 



Uddna, 223, 265, 281 

Uddaka, ^8 

Uddhacca, 103 

Uma, 241 

Upddana, 97 

Upddhis, 189 

Upanishads, 100, 117, 187-190, 

1 93> IQ 4> !99» 2 02, 204-207, 

209, 218, 243, 259 
Upekkha, 142, 143 
Uppalavanna, 163 
Uruvela, 29, 30, 42, 46 
Ushntsha, 331 



Vaidehi princes, 64 

Vairocana, 239, 249 

Vaisali, 155 

Vaishya, 214, 278 

Vajjians, 72 

Vajracchedika Sutra, 242, 317, 

3i8 
Vajrapani, 249 
Vajrasuci, 310 

Valeur de la Science, La, 113 
Valmiki, 216 
Vanaprasthas, 151 
Vardhamana, 11, 57 
Vasetta, 114, 268, 269 
Vasettha Sutta, 282 



2 A 



369 



Buddha SP the Gospel of Buddhism 



Vasubandhu, 251 

Vatsya, 158 

Vattagamani, 261 

Vedana, 97, 99, 100 

Vedanta Sutras, 187 

Vedanta, 45, 109, 122, 180, 187- 

194, 196, 200, 202, 203, 209, 

238, 241, 322 
Vedas, 187, 191, 218, 226, 310 
Veluvana, 62, 63 
Vesali, 52, 54, 72, 74, 75, 89 
Vessantara, Prince, 12, 34, 47, 

294, 295 
Vessantara Jataka, 230, 289, 294, 

295 
Vethadlpa, 89 
Vibhanga, 94 
Vicikiccha, 103 
Vijaya, Sister, 172 
Vijfiana Bhikshu, 219 
Vijnanavadins, 252 
Vimokha, 117 
Vimala-kirti Sutra, 244 
Vimanavatthu, 265 
Vimutti, 117, 118, 122-124, 148 
Vinaya Pitaka, 262, 265 
Vinhana, 96, 97, 99, 100 
Vipassi, 278 
Visakha, 52, 163, 164 
Vishnu, 241, 247 
Vissakamma, 57 
Visuddhi Magga, 92, 95, 159, 170, 

172, 297, 324 
Visvapani, 249 
Vulture's Peak, y^ 
Vyasa, 216 



W 



Wanderers, The, 151, 152 

Wang Wei, 343 

Warren, 163, 172 

Way of Enlightenment, 320 

Wei period, 342 

Weininger, 165, 166 

Wheel of Causation, 96 

Wheel of the Law, the, 39, 45, 

186 
Whitman, Walt, yy.. 142, 157, 167, 

177, 246 
Worsley, A., 199 
Wumayado, Prince, 339 
Wu Tao-tzu, 342, 343 



Yajnavalkhya, 198, 213 

Yakkhas, 22, 25, 325 

Yama, 272, 273 

Yasa, 41 

Yasodhara, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 

47, 49> 5o, 305 
Yoga, 146, 196, 197, 328 
Yogacara, 251, 252, 320 
Yogavaracaras, 310 



Zen Buddhism, 171, 172, 175, 

252-258 



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